Recreation and its Benefits to Health

Recreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's body or mind. While leisure is more likely a form of entertainment or rest, recreation is active for the participant but in a refreshing and diverting manner. As people in the world's wealthier regions lead increasingly sedentary life styles, the need for recreation has increased.
The rise of so called active vacations exemplifies this. A few individuals view recreation as largely non-productive, even trivial. Excessive recreation is not considered healthy, and may be labeled as escapism. However, research has shown that recreation contributes to life satisfaction, quality of life, health and wellness, and that the use of recreation as a diversion may have clinical applications to individuals with chronic pain and other health impairments.
In some cultures and religions, recreation is encouraged on certain days and discouraged on others. For example, in Judaism, the Shabbat is a day for recreation and relaxation; some Christian churches use the Sabbath. However, others interpret the Sabbath to be a day of worship, in lieu of recreation. Recreation is essential to the longevity of human beings, especially because it helps counteract stress.
Recreational therapy interventions are supported by a growing body of literature attesting to their effectiveness in producing desired health outcomes. Awareness of these outcomes is critical to the process of making informed health care choices. As is evident for every disability group discussed, interventions contained within recreational therapy's scope of practice are effective in alleviating primary symptoms of illness or disability, as well as in promoting and enhancing ongoing health maintenance, independent functioning, overall quality of life.
Recreational therapy interventions result in positive health outcomes in psychosocial, attitudinal, and lifestyle domains, which may so often be determining factors in an individual's ability to successfully cope with disability and return to a productive and personally fulfilling life. Ultimately, such outcomes result in reduced reliance upon costly and intensive medical care alternatives.