Transient Hypofrontality and You

Cultural theorist Johan Huizinga, was interested in the "play element of culture." In 1938, the Dutch author wrote a book called, Homo Ludens (Latin for "playing man"). As I understand it, Huizinga was trying to unpack how and why humans play, and he seemed particularly interested in highly organized forms of play. But Huizinga says this, "Play is older than culture, for culture, however inadequately defined, always presupposes human society, and animals have not waited for man to teach them their playing."

Indeed, You Tube, provides us with a contemporary catalog of animals at play. We know that all those cats, dogs, monkeys, ferrets and even sloths (google "bucket of sloths" sometime) not only play, but enjoy doing so. Why animals (and people), enjoy play is probably a question that evolutionary geneticists like to try to answer. If you've ever seen a nature documentary about wolves, it likely included a cute montage of wolf pups playing with a leftover peice of caribou. Watching wolf pups play with their food, it seems pretty obvious to us that they are playing at being predators, or learning their most important life skill. I've watched my own cat gleefully take the tail of a mouse in her teeth and flip the hapless victim into the air again and again. My cat has long since learned the art of predation, and yet she still seems to enjoy playing in this way.

Perhaps the question of why animals like to play is one that has been answered by evolutionary geneticists and neurologists-- it seems to follow that whatever you like to do, you'll do more of. And we know--thanks to brain science--that practice increases performance. Active, joyful practice, or play, seems so obviously to be the field school for life in the animal kingdom. Why, then, do so many people have such a hard time accepting the importance of play in human development?

Stuart Brown, President of the National Institute for Play, has asserted that play is part of the "developmental sequencing of becoming a human primate. If you look at what produces learning and memory and well-being, play is as fundamental as any other aspect of life, including sleep and dreams." Rex Jung, neuropsychologist and creativity researcher and his colleagues have landed on something called, "transient hypofrontality," This is when the frontal lobes of the brain are not as active. The frontal lobes, integrating with the rest of the brain, are usually the drivers of intelligence.  Rex Young:  "with intelligence, the back part of the brain and the front part of the brain are integrated in a way that allows intelligence to work well. And the story with intelligence is more is better. Greater cortical thickness, more neurons, higher connectivity between those neurons, and more biochemicals subserving those neurons was almost invariably better for intelligence." But greater creativity occurs when those frontal lobes relax and the rest of the brain "wander."  Young: "With creativity, it's a slower, more meandering process where you want to take the side roads and even the dirt roads to get there, to put ideas together. So the down regulation of frontal lobes, in particular, is important to allow those ideas to link together in unexpected ways."  I hear this, and I hear validation of the importance of play. How are people to innovate, to form new hypotheses, to solve big problems (like global warming), if we do not have time to play and find new, unexpected connections?  And to "back up the truck," how are children to grow integrated minds and discover who they are without ample time to experiment and play?


It seems to me that the scientific research around playing in nature supports the notion that nature can help induce this "transient hypofrontality," in our brains. Unplugging and playing outside, it has been suggested, by many, including cognitive psychologist, David Strayer, may improve our physical well-being and the performance of our brains. "Our brains...aren't tireless three-pound machines; they're easily fatigued. When we slow down, stop the busywork, and take in beautiful natural surroundings, not only do we feel restored, but our mental performance improves too."

My own busy teen-aged twins get up in the morning and go to school. They attend classes in windowless rooms and they do not go outside, even for PE class, on a daily basis. They role immediately from school into wonderful, but inside and mostly highly structured activities. When they head home, darkness is falling, it's dinner time and hours of homework await. This is the standard experience of teens across America. This is the system of daily life we have created and perpetuated for them. And our adult experience doesn't look much different. What do we do?

I assert that we hold on to the notion that play in nature is a catalyst-- not only for human creativity, but for human wellness, efficiency and innovation. I suggest that we keep advocating for and supporting those institutions that connect us to nature-based recreation and play. And I think we owe it to our kids and ourselves to share this value with parents, educators and legislators. For more information on the power of play in nature and for opportunities to advocate, visit:  The Children and Nature Network.


If you'd like to find out how kids can play outside after school in your community, contact Camp Fire Minnesota.