One thing we need to remember: games are not just for children!
In fact, the human race has been busy playing games for much of its history. Historians believe that for as long as people have lived in groups, people used play — games of sport, hunting rituals, storytelling, singing and dancing — to create stronger social bonds, to unwind, and for celebration. It’s actually in our DNA.
And for good reason. Playful behavior has been shown repeatedly to have powerful positive effects on human development, in ages.
In the elderly, games keep memory, cognitive functions, and fine motor skills robust.
We also know that play is essential for children. Not only is lack of play in childhood linked with serious social, emotional, and cognitive, it literally changes the brain, enlarging the prefrontal cortex and leading to greater problem solving, analytical skills, and emotional resilience down the road.
In adults, play keeps the brain sharp, fueling creativity and alternative thinking, activates the brain’s self-motivation mechanism, decreases stress, enhances memory, facilitates the linking of existing mental frameworks, increases energy and vitality, therefore protecting from disease, and expands our ability to learn. And it doesn’t end there, but that’s a whole ‘nother article.
In the words of George Bernard Shaw, we do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
Maybe this isn’t news to you, but most of us have stopped playing. We no longer hunt. Most people prefer to exercise alone, rushing through the motions all serious and sweaty at the gym. Adults with children are slightly better off, but for the full range of benefits, play must be challenging and engaging on the individual’s level.
Enter gamification. Gamification is the application of typical game-playing elements to other activities, and it’s on the rise.
While it is a relatively recent trend in business and marketing settings, gamification has long been used in education, language learning, and for exercise.
With our schedules growing ever busier, online gamification is front-and-center in the future of gamification. Language learning apps are already doing it.
Exercise and games have gone hand in hand for a long time. (Hello, sports!) But the translation of that competitive game mindset to the digital world? That’s a whole new playground. Pun intended.
When you exercise from a perspective of play, you are focused on the experience itself rather than the end goal or the finish line. We can define play as something done purely for its own sake, sometimes along or against others, because it is enjoyable. ‘Playing’ during your workout or run allows for curiosity and experimentation to flourish, and fuels intrinsic motivation. After all, who has trouble getting motivated to play?
Maybe you don’t have a problem getting motivated. You might think gamification is just another silly trend, here to waste your time. You might think, gym time is gym time, and game time is time set apart for entertainment.
But there’s a unique aspect to playing games that doesn’t quite translate to time spent at the gym, or running the same few blocks in your neighborhood every day. As you have fun and get caught up in the challenge of the game, you can see increases in your performance without even realizing quite how far you’ve come.
There are millions of tiny things that affect your endurance and performance every day. Everything from your mood to nutrition to whether or not you’re listening to music. Endurance athletes play mental games with themselves all the time, like keeping track of mental milestones, or running to the rhythm of a mantra.
So it’s really no surprise that gamification helps you get in ‘the zone’ and outperform yourself.
Next time you work out, why not see what gamification strategies you can employ in your workout routine. At the very least, you will have mixed it up a little. It’ll keep you on your toes. (This pun was not in fact intended, roll with it.)
With apps like rooners, which gamifies the experience of running or walking with games, leaderboards, points, award badges, and special prizes, you can reap the benefits of gamification in your exercise routine while you compete against real people, not just bots or a timer. While there are a few other exercise gamification apps on the market, like a, b, and c, rooners is the only one that brings into play the element of competition through races and challenges.
And keep in mind, you don’t need an exercise buddy to gamify your workout. All you need is the right perspective. Set achievable and sufficiently challenging milestones for yourself, keep a fun-loving attitude, and reward yourself for your efforts. Or simply take the guesswork out of it by playing a solo game on rooners app.
As you earn badges and build up the look of your profile, finding the motivation to stick with running or walking on a regular basis easier.
One last piece of advice: never try to implement this with something you don’t already like. If you don’t like something, making it into a game isn’t going to make you magically like it.
BUT if you’re doing something you enjoy and you use clever methods like gamification to keep you engaged and consistent, from where we’re standing you’re pretty much invincible.
