2026 Issue #20

Why Play Is So Important for Your Nervous System

Hi Reader,

When I worked in corporate, I was really good at being productive.

But if I’m being honest? I was terrible at play.

Of course I took my kids to fun things like birthday parties, trampoline parks, fun outdoor parks in the area where they could run around.

But most of the time, I was off to the side, being productive. Doing things like,

Answering emails.
Online shopping for things the family needed
Thinking about work.
Dead scrolling to try and mentally recover from work.

And somewhere along the way, I stopped doing things just because they were fun.

And I didn’t realize how much I needed that until a friend from college invited me to a sip-and-paint party.

Honestly? I almost didn’t go.

I remember thinking:
👉 I don’t paint.
👉 I’m not artistic.
👉 This feels inconvenient and more importantly, unproductive.

Which now feels kind of ridiculous looking back 😄

Because somewhere along the way, I had convinced myself that if I wasn’t good at something… or if it didn’t “accomplish” something… it probably wasn’t worth doing.

But I went anyway because I needed a kid free social setting and opportunities to see past friends are rare with busy schedules.

And something unexpected happened.

The second I started putting color on the board… I felt lighter.

Not because I suddenly discovered hidden artistic talent. 😅

But because it felt familiar. Like being a little kid again.

It was fun just to be silly and paint without really caring what it looked like.

We were just sitting around laughing and painting, not worrying about work, or chores or anything else stressful.

And boom. That right there?

👉 That’s medicine.

Not medicine for your cells, per se, but medicine for your nervous system.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that healing isn’t always about doing more supplements, more protocols, more self-improvement.

Sometimes healing looks like:
👉 laughing hard
👉 painting badly
👉 dancing in your kitchen
👉 digging in the dirt
👉 playing a board game
👉 coloring with your kids instead of just watching them color

Because when you do something that brings you the kind of joy you remember from childhood…

your nervous system responds.

Your body softens.

You come out of survival mode for a minute.

And that matters more than most people realize.

This isn’t just my opinion, either.

So many trauma therapists and nervous system educators — including Dr. Nicole LePera, author of "How to Do the Work" — talk about the importance of reconnecting with play, creativity, curiosity, and joy.

Because adults who are constantly “on”…
constantly productive…
constantly responsible…

often forget something really important:

👉 humans are meant to play.

Not earn rest.
Not prove their worth first.

Just… play.

And maybe that’s your reminder this week.

Not to overhaul your life.

Not to become a watercolor artist overnight, (but what if you did? 😄).

But to ask yourself:

👉 What made me feel alive when I was little?
👉 And how can I bring a little bit of that back now?

Because your inner child?

She’s not gone.