January is finally upon us, ushering in the annual month of detoxes, clear-outs and fitness kicks.
But according to top psychologist Dr Meg Arroll, a more simple change of mindset could be far more effective – laying the foundations for all the healthy things you hope to achieve.
A recent psychology poll, designed by Dr Arroll, found two thirds of people felt happier after doing things that ignited their inner child or childhood memories.
Those who played games, doodled and took spontaneous adventures felt more energetic and fit than they had done without those child-like activities.
This is no coincidence: scores of studies have shown the nostalgic carelessness we feel from child’s play helps us to feel more relaxed, alleviating the suffocating pressures of adulthood.
However, there is a difference between being child-like and childish – and getting the two confused can be bad for your health, and the well-being of others around you.
Here, Dr Arroll explains how to tap into your inner child while maintaining the structure, maturity and fun of adult life.
Doing things that make you feel nostalgic can improve mood and protect against depression
What is a ‘kidult’?
A kidult is an adult who takes joy from things such as toys, games and activities traditionally intended for children.
But this doesn’t mean that kidults are people that just don’t want to grow up – the caricatured ‘Peter Pan syndrome’ – but rather those that can strip away the layers of adulthood and become immersed in the pleasure of a board game, colouring book or art activity for pleasure.
Being a kidult can also mean that you enjoy spending time with kids – parents, grandparents, family and friends – and enter and embrace a child’s world of play.
The Healthspan survey study, carried out via OnePoll.com, discovered that being a kidult is also believed to be good for your health and well-being. Three-quarters of people felt that embracing their inner child or doing something from their childhood makes them feel happy.
Childish vs childlike
So being a kidult doesn’t mean acting childish, but rather childlike. Childhood is synonymous with feeling carefree, imaginative and playful. However, the lines between childhood and adulthood are becoming more and blurred – in a good way!
The statistic database Statista showed that Disneyland was the most Instagrammed tourist attraction in 2017. Disneyland, California had double the number of posts compared to the next popular destination, the Eiffel Tower – over 4.6 million tagged photos.
Endless remakes, prequels and sequels of popular films from the 1970s, 80s and 90s also show that kidulthood is big business. Sure, Disney and other childlike attractions and movies are targeted at kids but there is now no embarrassment in a group of adults revealing in Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel comic characters.
Why does this trip down memory lane feel so good?
Film, toy and game companies know that we love being reminded of our childhood – and its big business. The top five grossing films of 2017 were all based on fantasy themes popular when most of us were growing up (Beauty and the Beast, Star Wars Episode VIII, Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming).
The Healthspan survey found that over half of the respondents watched old movies and TV programmes in order to feel nostalgic – which makes sense when you think of these huge box office successes.
More than this, a sense of nostalgia can actually be good for your mental health. Research has found that reminiscing can help to reduce symptoms of depression. This is because reflecting on the past boosts self-esteem, confidence, optimism and gives us a more profound sense of the meaning of life.
Nostalgia can even warm you up
Feeling nostalgic seems to have a physical effect also. Researchers in China looked into how often people felt nostalgic in relation to the weather. They found that on colder days, levels of nostalgic feelings were higher.
It was also discovered that people can tolerate the cold better when they think about music, movies, TV programmes, places and people from the past. It doesn’t seem to matter if these memories are positive or negative – simply feeling nostalgic buffers against the cold.
Nostalgia prevents loneliness – which is as bad as smoking for health
Nostalgia also helps to reduce feelings of loneliness, which is an increasing problem – and not just in older people. People under 25 and over 65 experience the highest levels of loneliness in the UK. Loneliness is linked to poor mental and physical health (research suggests being lonely is as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day) so anything that can prevent feeling lonely is a good thing.
Nostalgia seems to work by making us feel more socially connected. The memories of our childhoods can be drawn upon so that we feel supported – this lifts mood and also makes us more charitable.
Nostalgia allows us to feel more empathic towards others which results in charitable behaviour such as volunteering, giving money and supporting food banks.
These activities then in turn make us feel good – so as crazy as it seems, embracing our inner kidult by watching an old (or remake) film, listening to a classic radio station or just thinking about the past may trigger a feel-good cycle that trickles out to benefit many people.
Doodling improves memory
Have you ever sat in a boring meeting and doodled on the agenda? Or mindlessly drawn shapes while speaking to a relative on the phone like you did when you were a kid? It turns out that doodling is good for our cognitive ability, rather than meaning we’re not paying attention as we may have been told in school.
A study carried out at the University of Plymouth found that people who doodled while monitoring monotonous telephone messages were able to recall 29% more information than those didn’t scribble during the dull task.
The researcher suggested that the reason why doodling helps people to retain information during boring tasks is that we need a certain amount of mental stimulation to hold our attention. Even by focusing on doodles it seems we can stop ourselves from completing zoning out.
Next time you’re in a dull meeting and start to scribble don’t feel guilty as this is actually helping your memory.
Art eases anxiety over illness
Adult coloring-in books are widespread now and the choice is endless – from the Kama Sutra to Bill Murray, anyone can find a book to suit their preferences.
Adult coloring books started with intricate mandalas – outlines of intertwining circles used as a form a meditation. Like meditation, this form of coloring-in has been shown to put people in a more positive mood and reduce feelings of anxiety.
You don’t need any previous training in art, instruction or specialist materials to try coloring in, so this is a very easy and inexpensive way to reconnect with your inner child and manage day-to-day stress.
Revisiting childhood art-making activities that allow us to be creative can help in the most difficult times.
Adults lost in the world of work, mortgages and responsibility often find it surprising how much fun they have when they try their hand at art again
An Australian research study looking at women with heart disease found that drawing helped them to better understand their condition. The women were asked to draw their heart disease which helped them to visualise their illness.
These visualisations led the women in this study to explore the meaning of their illness, which is known to facilitate positive ways of coping with ill health.
Another study looked at a range of art-making including textiles, card making, collage, pottery, watercolour and acrylics in women with cancer. These types of creative pursuits helped the women in a number of ways, such as focusing on their positive life experiences. This lessened their ongoing preoccupation with cancer.
Making cards, pottery and paintings also boosted the women’s sense of self-worth and maintained their identity outside of their condition – they could feel like themselves and not defined by cancer via engaging in arts and crafts. These activities also offered an important way to express emotions, especially during the women’s chemotherapy.
But you don’t have to suffer from ill health to reap the benefits of art-making. Think about the things you once enjoyed as a child and try them out again – adults lost in the world of work, mortgages and responsibility often find it surprising how much fun they have when they try their hand at art again. Give it a go and unleash your inner child.
The importance of ‘play’ in adulthood
Child games such as LEGO are not simply activities to play with children anymore – now large companies use LEGO to increase confidence, improve self-assurance and develop problem-solving skills.
Known as LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, facilitators help teams in a company share knowledge and decision making via 3D models built out of the interlocking bricks. By allowing the team to ‘play out’ different scenarios with the bricks, solutions to tricky problem can be found in a fun way.
Playing with LEGO isn’t confined to the boardroom however – there are kidults that meet in pubs across the country. Adult Fans of LEGO (or AFOL) Meetups encourage free play and more structured kidult play sessions and competitions.
But you can easily play with LEGO at home with family. A quarter of people in the Healthspan study said that playing with LEGO made them feel connected to their childhood in a positive way but you can use any game you like. Monopoly was the most frequently cited game in this research for eliciting those feel-good memories.
Final word
As George Bernard Shaw famously said: ‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.’
Adopting a child-like openness to experiences in life can help us be happier and healthier. Thinking of the past appears to have a profound effect on our bodies, helping us to beat the cold, symptoms of depression and isolation. This reconnection with our inner child is something to be fostered and enjoyed – either on our own or with others.