• Posted February 11, 2025

'Playful' Approach to Life Pays Off, Study Finds

Want to thrive in tough, stressful times? Stay playful.

That's the take-home message from a new study of who fared best, in terms of mental resiliency, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers said the findings have relevance to weathering any sort of trying times.

"Playful" people differ from others in that they display "greater optimism when envisioning future possibilities," are more creative when it comes to solving problems, and attempt to "infuse quality and enjoyment into everyday activities," explained study lead author Xiangyou “Sharon” Shen of Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis. 

Her team's study, published Feb. 9 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, tracked the mental health outcomes for 503 individuals throughout the pandemic. 

Psychologists already acknowledge playfulness as an important personality trait, and there's even a Playfulness Trait Scale to measure it. 

According to Shen, during the pandemic folks who scored high on the scale "actively altered challenging situations, found creative substitutes for what was lost, viewed obstacles as opportunities for growth and maintained a strong sense of control over their responses."

More playful people tended to stress out less during the COVID years, compared to less-playful types, the study found.

Shen said that playful folk did not necessarily engage in different activities or do any particular activity more often. 

Instead, they became more deeply involved in whatever activity they were in; were more active generally; and derived more fun out of whatever they were doing.

“This is essentially making lemonade from lemons, and it’s connected intimately with resilience,” said Shen, who directs the Health, Environment and Leisure (HEAL) Research Lab at OSU. "[Playful people's] unique combination of realistic assessment and flexible problem solving emerged as a powerful formula, offering a vivid demonstration of how personality traits like playfulness shape our responses under stress.”

It wasn't that playful folks were looking at the pandemic with rose-colored glasses, either.

“Highly playful people were just as realistic about COVID-19 risks and challenges as others, but they excelled at ‘lemonading’ -- creatively imagining and pursuing the positive, discovering ways to create moments of joy even in difficult circumstances,” Shen said in a university news release.

She stressed that people aren't necessarily born with playfulness; it can be cultivated, too.  

Researchers offered some ways to gather more playfulness into your life. Consider:

• Looking for activities that "spark joy and curiosity."

• Mixing things up when it comes to new ways to carry out routine activities.

• Looking for avenues to "spontaneous, unstructured exploration."

• Meeting up with folks who keep your spirits up and who love play, too.

• Never shying away from life's "sillier" moments. 

• Including time for playfulness, even 10 minutes per day, as part of your routine.

"True playfulness doesn’t require a playground, games or toys," Shen said. "It’s about bringing a spirit of openness, flexibility and fun to everyday moments.”

More information

Find out more about playfulness at Pacific Mental Health.

SOURCE: Oregon State University, news release, Feb. 10, 2025