Want to be healthier? Turn to cosplay!

If you are like me, you have been given many reasons why your love of all things nerdy or geeky is not good.  But guess what, they’re wrong! There are so many reasons why living a nerdy or geeky lifestyle can be a really healthy and positive thing to do.  In this blog I want to look at just one reason-and really just a small segment of that reason.

It’s FUN!

OK, so this may not sound like a good reason, but it actually is.  Most adults don’t know how to have fun properly and many feel guilty if they do find themselves enjoying a leisure activity.  Those of us who are labeled as “nerdy” or “geeky” (or both-“neeky”?) have known for years the benefit of doing something you love. “Cosplay is an awesome way to spice up your life and have fun with others who share similar interests,” states Guttulus.

Fun relieves stress.

Who doesn’t have stress in their lives?  Work, (or the lack of it), relationships (family, friends, co-workers), hectic schedules, and difficult life experiences take their toll on us.  It is important to take the time to relieve the various stresses in our lives and recharge.  Play allows us to do that. Need a scientific explanation? Tolu Ajiboye wrote an article for NBC News titled “Adults need recess too. Here’s why you should make time to play.”

The article states that play reduces the stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) and releases your feel-good hormones (endorphins).  The release of endorphins elevates your mood and helps you relax after a stressful day/week.  This helps to explain why after designing and wearing a cosplay, reorganizing your comic collection, discussing your favorited sci-fi movies (or documentaries) you feel so good.  As children, we were encouraged to set out and explore the world through many different avenues.  As we became adults, that permission to continue to explore in those creative ways was taken away.  I find that the “neeky” communities have given themselves permission to carry on.  “There doesn’t need to be any point to the activity beyond having fun and enjoying yourself. By giving yourself permission to play with the joyful abandon of childhood, you can reap oodles of health benefits throughout life.”

 Here is what one cosplay blog, The Nerd said, “When you are cosplaying it’s a great way to have fun as well as leave your worries behind. To not stress about problems for a little while and escape into a character and take on a different persona is amazing. The entire process can alleviate stress; from deciding to portray one of your favorite characters to creating the costume to showing your creation to others.”

Fun builds relationships and communities.

Getting together with others to share common interests is always a positive thing.  Not everyone in your immediate circle of friends and family will share your interests, and that is to be expected.  That is why social media, and in person conventions are an important way to connect with others who share your interests. Here you can forge friendships that will continue long after the event that brought you together is over.

“I've been blessed with many friends that I met through the Tomb Raider Cosplay community. I'd like to think I've made family members of most of them. Some of us have known each other for more than a decade.” -Lara Croft Cosplayer

Fun improves imagination and creativity.

When we are engaged in activities that are fun and meaningful, we stimulate our minds. Using your imagination and allowing for creative use can improve your concentration.  Think of how you can immerse yourself in a game of chess, spend hours designing a cosplay prop, loose track of time when conversing about dinosaurs with a friend.  Dr. Sam Wang and Dr. Sandra Aamodt talk about how this can transfer over into other areas.

“Work in adult life is often most effective when it resembles play. Indeed, total immersion in an activity often indicates that the activity is intensely enjoyable; this is the concept of flow, or what athletes call being in the zone… Flow occurs during active experiences that require concentration but are also highly practiced, where the goals and boundaries are clear but leave room for creativity. This describes many adult hobbies, from skiing to music, as well as careers like surgery and computer programming.”

Using our imagination and engaging in creative activities, also encourages us to develop new skills, problem solve, think “outside the box”, encourages us to continue to learn and grow in new areas of our lives.

So, if someone comments one more time, on how “childish” you are, thank them and let them know you will give them tips on how they too can be a healthy “child”.  The word “play” has become to narrow in our adult world.  We get the opportunity to broaden the concept of play and show others how to reap the benefits of play. 

“Think of play as more of a mental approach to activities, not necessarily the particular activities themselves. In fact, you don’t really need to worry about if an activity constitutes as play or not, as long as you adopt a playful mindset and of course, have fun, while you’re partaking.” -Tolu Ajiboye