Wellness is everywhere. What used to be restricted to green juices and gym sessions has now expanded to meditation apps, yoga at the office, vagina candles and even healthy treats for your dog. Some of it’s great. Some of it’s crap. So when the Washington Post reported that Lego is now actively targeting stressed-out grown-ups as part of its new marketing campaigns, promising to help them disconnect from the mania of the day, you’d be forgiven for an exasperated eye-roll. You’d also be wrong.
Adult fans of Lego – or “AFOLs”, for those in the know – may once have felt the need to keep their habit to themselves. But new research connecting play with mental wellbeing and a marketing campaign aimed at health-conscious millennials are helping to break down the plastic barrier.
A survey by the Danish toy company found that 91% of adults felt noticeably better after playing with the building blocks, while 86% said that it made them feel more relaxed. It’s all part of a wider movement away from screen-based gadgets: in the UK, spending on “kidult” toys (think Nerf guns, Scalextric sets and drones) has increased by more than £30m since 2016.
Now, Lego is urging grown-ups to reconnect with their inner nine-year-old to help them escape the stressful barrage of social media and work emails. And the claims that playing with Lego is good for you aren’t just playground chatter – they have a solid scientific basis.
Pastimes that require a high level of concentration have therapeutic effects because they limit anxious self-reflection. Scientists at the University of Otago found that activities such as completing sudoku or jigsaw puzzles and filling in colouring books encouraged a state of mindfulness. Even without guided meditation, consciously living in the present moment – as you’ll do while adding the final bricks to your Lego Millennium Falcon – is proven to reduce stress.
Practising mindful thinking can lower inflammation and your levels of the stress hormone cortisol by 15% over an eight-week period, according to a study published in Psychiatric Research. Give your mental health a tiny, yellow helping hand.
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