Don’t get too serious – it’s okay to have fun

• Boosting serotonin, dopamine and endorphins, the feel-good hormones.

• Help during episodes of depression and anxiety.

In order to maintain or improve quality of life, it is important to include regular enjoyment. There are five attitudinal factors, which researchers have identified as determinants of different types of fun.

These are: immersion into an activity intended for pure enjoyment. How many times have you played a board game or attended a trivia night? Did you do so because you wanted to win or to have fun?

• Fun involving risk taking. Think car racing, for instance.

Rabbi David Freedman continues to share his love of allthings-Judaica with Jewish Report readers and the feedback has been phenomenal!

Questions reflect his broad-based knowledge accrued over decades of soulful study and service. The result is an original quiz of quality covering myriad themes and topics –from Jewish law to poetry to famous figures to history, geography and more!

Enjoy this at your Shabbat table with your nearest and dearest.

1. In what language is the Kaddish written?

2. The Resh Galuta (lit. The Head of the Exile) was the political head of which ancient Diaspora community?

3. What is the major distinction between Shabbat and Yom Tov in Jewish Law?

4. Which 8th century biblical prophet was born in Judah, prophesied in the northern kingdom of Israel and was both a shepherd and sycamore fig farmer?

5. The opening volume or Seder of the Oral Law is known as Seder Zeraim. What area of law is covered in this section?

Fun and obligation are two different things. For example, attending a school awards’ night may be the right thing to do because your child is attending that school, but it is not necessarily fun.

In contrast, going on holidays with friends or family after working hard all year can, indeed, be heaps of fun because we are carefree and unrestricted.

Having fun has positive biological effects. When we engage in pleasurable activities, the brain releases dopamine, which leads to positivity and can counteract more uncomfortable feelings of hopelessness and stress.

As responsible adults, it is easy to take life too seriously and forget how to play. We can observe children, cats and dogs in order to remind ourselves how to have fun.

When they are engaged in play, they are having the best time. We need to take a leaf out of their book.

The psychological benefits of having fun include:

• More energy for you and the people you are with.

• Stress relief, which can do untold damage to our mental and physical health and wellbeing.