IT’S PLAYTIME
Words Laura Potter. Photograph iStock
If you have a silly side – embrace it! That’s the message from new German research, suggesting playful people more easily see things from new perspectives, make dull chores feel less repetitive and reinterpret situations so they seem less stressful. They identified four types of playful adults: those who ‘fool around’ with friends and acquaintances; light-hearted people who see their whole life as a type of game; those who play with thoughts and ideas, so can make monotonous tasks interesting; and those who’re whimsically playful, interested in strange and unusual things and amused by small day-today observations. The scientists say it should be seen as a positive trait – so switch off your serious side for a while.