Learn · TED

Talk12 min

How play boosts your creativity and resilience

Katina Bajaj · TED

Watch At TED

About

When was the last time you just ... played? Creative health scientist Katina Bajaj thinks adults are in a "play deprivation crisis," where we've replaced our fun-loving human nature with optimization and efficiency. She makes the case that play isn't a reward for productivity but rather a survival skill — and invites you to rediscover the freedom of not knowing where something will end up.

The talk

  1. How play boosts your creativity and resilience 12 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
Play@TED
Speaker
Katina Bajaj
Year
2026
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Medicine and health, Art, architecture and design
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed