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"  BUILDING ON YEARS of research into the science of play, a new group of experts and consultants is making the case that a healthy dose of fun pays dividends at work. In fact, adult play \u2014 long seen as a slacker indulgence for anyone over the age of 30 \u2014 is now considered essential to workplace productivity, with companies across the country hiring &amp;quot;play consultants&amp;quot; and instituting mandatory happy hours. Even Facebook&amp;#039;s all-night &amp;quot;hackathons&amp;quot; are a way to keep employees active and engaged. &amp;quot;Play isn&amp;#039;t the opposite of work,&amp;quot; says Dr. Stuart Brown, who in 2007 founded The National Institute of Play \u2014 a Carmel Valley, California-based nonprofit \u2014 to promote the idea of lifelong merrymaking. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re mutually supportive. Neither can thrive without the other.&amp;quot; We dug up the studies and polled the experts to provide the four best ways play can help you professionally. 1 PLAY PROVIDES SUPER-FOCUS. Researchers have long since proven that for schoolkids, recess is essential for classroom excellence; a notable 2005 study published in the journal Educational Researcher suggested that it &amp;quot;maximizes children&amp;#039;s cognitive performance.&amp;quot; Now, thanks to innovations in neuroscience, experts believe it&amp;#039;s important for adults in the boardroom, too. &amp;quot;Your attention span throughout the day is cyclical,&amp;quot; says Robyn M. Holmes, professor of psychology at Monmouth University. &amp;quot;After about 90 minutes, the brain tunes out. It needs downtime to recycle chemicals needed to maintain focus and store information.&amp;quot; The takeaway? If you have to produce 20 PowerPoint slides before 8 p.m., a quick and fun diversion may be your best ally: Sketch notes on construction paper, doodle on an Etch A Sketch, or engage in a quick arm-wrestling match with your cubemate. 2 PLAY BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS. The prefrontal cortex, your brain&amp;#039;s social-behavior headquarters, strengthens its neuron-to-neuron connections from social play. Canadian researchers found that young rats isolated from same-age peers developed into socially awkward adult rats. &amp;quot;The play world is a training ground for the real world,&amp;quot; says Penn State University anthropologist Garry Chick, Ph.D. The human prefrontal cortex matures by the mid-20s, but the more you engage in enjoyable interactions with others, the better your brain will process social cues \u2014 a vital skill for deepening associations at work or meeting new contacts. At Tarte Cosmetics in Manhattan, founder Maureen Kelly hosts a mandatory monthly happy hour where employees gossip and relax. &amp;quot;It creates a bond,&amp;quot; she says. So drag everyone to drinks after a big deadline. Your boss will be so impressed with your people skills, you might just become her confidante. 3 PLAY BOOSTS CREATIVITY. In a well-known study done by researchers at the University of Toronto, toddlers playing with &amp;quot;divergent thinking&amp;quot; toys (blocks) came up with more inventive solutions for a follow-up task than those playing with non-divergent toys (puzzles). The lesson? Play that doesn&amp;#039;t require a &amp;quot;right&amp;quot; answer \u2014 for adults, painting, dancing, piano jamming \u2014 may foster outside-the-box problem solving. Randii Wessen, Ph.D., deputy manager of the Pasadena, California, Jet Propulsion Laboratory&amp;#039;s Project Formulation Office, says his firm&amp;#039;s cheeky brainstorming space \u2014 an open room stocked with Styrofoam balls and pipe cleaners, and a balcony and patio affectionately dubbed &amp;quot;Left Field&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Out There&amp;quot; \u2014 reminds everyone that &amp;quot;every idea is valid.&amp;quot; Play gives you permission to let your hair down, so next time you head up a meeting, pass out some Silly Putty. Then make way for brilliance. 4 PLAY DIFFUSES CONFLICT. A Japanese study last year demonstrated that stress hormone levels fall during creative play \u2014 a finding that some companies have been eager to incorporate into HR practices. After Littleton, Colorado-based play consultant Barbara Brannen instituted Halloween dress-up day and stashed Play-Doh around the offices of an energy company, unwanted turnover decreased from 25 to 5 percent the next year. Organize an after-hours game of tag football and invite people from every office clique. The collaborative buzz could carry over into tomorrow&amp;#039;s sales meeting. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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