From birth till age 18, 5% to 20% of the time is spent playing. Almost every child plays, and the many benefits of play are right there to showcase why it is essential. There has been researching done to support the necessity for playtimes, such as for physical health and mental strength. While more play opportunities are being out there to get away from the depressing, restricting school time, parents have to take them out because of the proof that playful behavior has strong, positive effects on the brain. Playtime can equal learning on different things.

Playtime is defined, in simple terms, an activity done for its own sake, characterized by means rather than ends. Play can be to act or imitate the part of a person of character, to employ a piece of playground equipment, fun or jest, as opposed to seriousness, exercise or activity for the amusement of recreation, or the action of a game. To begin making these studies, scientists looked at the brain growth of rats. Rats who were kept in solitary confinement had smaller cerebral cortexes than rats who were in open environments to see everything. Animals play like humans, so the connection was very similar that children who were kept out of playing had slow development compared to those who could play.

To know more on how a child's brain works, many researchers have kept their focus on how a single brain cell acts or looked at millions of cells working together to create the dynamic behavior in playtime. While many are still unknown, researchers have gathered a better understanding of what the brain reacts to play that could be put into perspective many things. Work that has lasted decades has found that the brain uses various circuits to generate play. These circuits are activated to make playtime enjoyable, to choose the actions being done during this time, and other courses and functioned to make sure play is reciprocal.

Play affects the brain from the prefrontal cortex, the brain's command center, to get big and fast, regulating emotions, allowing us to make plans, and solve different problems. Researchers acknowledge that this is the reason play is key to healthy cerebral development, but the regular game will do. To make the best of early brain development, researchers conclude children should engage in free-play in which there are no rules to follow. A lot of free-play allows the brain to build new circuits in the prefrontal cortex so it can control the complex social interactions we form when playing.

The brain has always been a difficult part. There is the physical and psychological part that requires more research into any one area of the body. With children, it's how they develop as they grow up. Most brain development is in their early years, so it becomes highly essential to parents and educators to get playtime involved in their lives to grow up. The prefrontal cortex and all of their circuits are the ultimate incoming center for everything a child learns in playtime.