When we play board games, we socialize, have fun, exercise our minds, and enjoy a variety of other benefits. It is one of the few behavioral decisions we can make which positively influences our cognitive function. This helps us to flourish!
“Life is more fun if you play games.” – Roald Dahl, My Uncle Oswald (1979)
Playing board games is good for both our minds and bodies.
- This is true for people of all ages. Activities such as board games which challenge us intellectually and require that we creatively solve problems have long-term benefits for maintaining cognitive function, especially when we play on a regular basis. Studies indicate that this is especially true for traditional analog board games, cards, crossword puzzles, and Sudoku.
- It helps children develop their memory and practice cognitive skills such as reasoning, solving problems, planning, making decisions, thinking abstractly, understanding complex ideas, and learning from experience. Focusing on small details in a board game helps to develop a child’s resilience, persistence, and ability to concentrate, and lengthens their attention span. This type of intellectual engagement also slows cognitive decline in middle and older age.
- Strong cognitive function improves our quality of life, and is associated with good physical and mental health, helping to protect us from medical conditions such as diabetes, depression, and dementia.
Playing board games is a fun, healthy social activity.
- Playing board games with others combats social isolation and enhances our social networks by helping us to connect with others, which reduces our risk for developing cardiovascular disease among other things. Playing a board game helps us to bond with others, especially when the game involves teamwork and cooperation. It also helps us to develop emotional intelligence, which is our ability to understand and manage our emotions, and to recognize and influence the emotions of those around us.
- It takes our mind off our troubles and reduces stress. It is a fun way to practice relinquishing control and facing the unknown.
Playing board games makes us smile.
- When we have fun, our bodies secrete serotonin, a neurotransmitter which boosts our mood, making us happier, calmer, and more emotionally stable. It also speeds up digestion while reducing our appetites, and enhances the quality of our sleep, among other things. If you would like to enjoy some snacks while you play, and boost your serotonin levels at the same time, you might want to consider those that include foods such as nuts, pineapple, cheese, turkey, salmon, eggs, and/or tofu.
- Laughter is life affirming, especially in the company of others. It relaxes our bodies, diffuses any anger we may be feeling, strengthens our immune systems, protects our hearts by improving blood vessel function and increasing blood flow, reduces pain, burns calories, and protects us from stress. As a result, having fun playing board games translates to long-lasting benefits, including increasing our enthusiasm for other parts of our lives.
Chess is an example of a board game that has health and wellness benefits.
- The United Nations designated July 20th as World Chess Day. Chess is “one of the most ancient, intellectual, and cultural games” according to the U.N. Russian chess grandmaster and world chess champion Anatoly Karpov described it as a combination of art, science, and sport.
- Chess promotes fairness and mutual respect, perhaps because it is affordable and inclusive. Anyone can play it, regardless of age, gender, physical ability, or social status, and it is a universal game that may be enjoyed by opponents from different cultures and/or who speak different languages.
- The health-promoting benefits of playing chess may help to explain why its popularity increased significantly during the recent pandemic, as evidenced by the growing number of chess tournaments.
You can make playing board games a festive event by inviting family and/or friends and supplying healthy, fun snacks and drinks. Or, if you want to enjoy playing board games without doing all that work, many community centers, parks, and organizations sponsor weekly games. Have fun – and flourish!
Written by: Marti Klein
About the author: Marti is a health and wellness coach and the owner of Flourish! Health and Wellness Coaching in Dana Point, California, offering telehealth coaching. Connect with her at www.FlourishHWC.com or via LinkedIn. She received her graduate-level training in health and wellness coaching at Emory University, and looks forward to sitting for the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching/National Board of Medical Examiners exam next month. She is dedicated to helping people enhance their health and wellness and has a special interest in lipedema, a chronic loose connective tissue disorder primarily affecting women. She is also the co-owner of Klein + Klein, a corporate communications consulting firm.