Brain science backs play time

Published on August 28th, 2025 | A neurodivergent-affirming therapist's perspective on play as education

If you've ever worried that your child spends "too much time playing," take a deep breath. What looks like simple fun is actually nature's most sophisticated learning system at work. Every moment of play is building the neural pathways that will serve your child for life.

As caring adults in children's lives, we naturally want to give them every advantage. Sometimes that means stepping back and trusting what millions of years of evolution got absolutely right.

The Science Behind Play

Play isn't the opposite of learning—it's learning in its purest form. When children play, their brains release dopamine for motivation, norepinephrine for attention, and BDNF for neural growth. This creates perfect conditions for memory formation and skill development.

Dr. Jaak Panksepp's research shows that play activates the same neural circuits responsible for problem-solving, emotional regulation, and creative thinking. Play is your child's natural curriculum, perfectly designed for their developing brain.

How Play Rewires the Brain for Learning

During play, multiple brain regions fire simultaneously, creating new neural pathways at an extraordinary rate. The prefrontal cortex engages in complex problem-solving while stress hormones remain low—creating the perfect storm for learning.

Play activates the brain's default mode network, making connections between seemingly unrelated concepts. This is why children often have breakthrough moments during unstructured play—their brains are literally rewiring themselves, forming new neural networks that enhance creativity and critical thinking.

Most powerfully, play creates "embodied cognition"—children learning through physical experience form multi-sensory neural connections that are far stronger than those created through passive instruction.

Why Movement Builds Minds

The cerebellum controls more than just physical movement—it's crucial for language development, executive function, and emotional regulation. Research by Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda shows that children who engage in more physical play demonstrate stronger spatial reasoning, mathematical concepts, and language development.

For many children, especially those who are neurodivergent, movement isn't a distraction from learning—it's the gateway to it. When adults honor their need to move, we often see remarkable improvements in focus, emotional regulation, and academic performance.

The Types of Play That Build Brilliance

Construction and building play develops spatial reasoning, engineering concepts, and mathematical thinking. Every tower teaches physics and persistence.

Imaginative and role play builds emotional intelligence, language skills, and social understanding through storytelling and empathy practice.

Physical challenge play—climbing, jumping, spinning—develops motor skills, risk assessment, confidence, and executive function.

Nature play offers irreplaceable sensory experiences that improve attention, reduce stress, and enhance creativity.

Celebrating Different Ways of Being Smart

Every child's brain is beautifully unique. What looks like "challenging behavior" often reflects a child trying to meet their individual neurological needs. When adults create environments that honor these differences—offering both active and calm spaces, various sensory experiences, and multiple ways to engage—every child can access their natural learning abilities.

Trust the Process

When caring adults shift their perspective from seeing play as time away from learning to recognizing it as the most effective learning children will ever do, everything changes. Adults become partners in development rather than directors of it.

So the next time you see your child deeply engaged in play, pause and appreciate what you're witnessing: a young mind following its innate wisdom, building skills that no worksheet could ever teach, and experiencing the pure joy of discovery that will fuel a lifetime of learning.

Your child's play isn't time wasted—it's genius in action.

-Taylour

Does this resonate with you? Reach out to connect and learn more about our therapeutic services that are rooted in movement, joy and play.