A few days ago, I blogged about a clever little acronym that my team and I have been working with called PLAY, which - on one level, stands for Protein intake, Liquid intake, Activity and You time.  In our research of how women can begin leading healthier lives, we’ve found that getting the right amounts of each of these daily can really help.

But I haven’t written yet about the biggest reason we’ve been drawn to PLAY.  Emerging science is showing that being playful is actually extremely important for our health - helping to make us more successful, less violent, better able to maintain sanity in times of crises, and better able to handle grief.  

In his book, “Play:  How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul,” psychiatrist and play theorist Dr. Stuart Brown writes about how play is essential to our social skills, adaptability, intelligence, creativity, and ability to problem solve.  It’s a fascinating book, and I encourage you to pick it up!

As a result of the work of Dr. Brown and our own research into the science of play, my colleagues and I are certainly making time to “play” a lot more in our own workplace environments.  Have you gotten your play today?   Be sure that you do!  And be sure to check www.wellowomen.com soon for more on how we intend to bring this idea of PLAY to the women of the world!