12 reasons to play LEGO® bricks as an adult

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

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The constructor will help you become smarter and calmer.

1. Improve concentration

Until recently, multitasking was considered a superpower. However, scientists now recognize the ineffectiveness of such a strategy. Constantly switching between tasks reduces overall productivity by 40% and provokes stress. It is much more beneficial to focus on one thing at a time. But for many it turns out to be a task of increased complexity. When you get used to constantly switching, it is difficult to concentrate on one thing for a long time.

It's easier to get this skill back with LEGO sets. If only because it is impossible to tear yourself away from the process, you really want to know what will turn out. And there, and with working reports, things will go more vigorously.

2. Train your brain

Although the brain is not a muscle, it can still be trained. Research shows that different kinds of puzzles improve cognitive function. Scientists call working with LEGO sets constructive play activity - but not from the word "constructor". It's just that you have a lot of problems to solve in the process. For example, organize the space so that the necessary details are not lost and are at hand. The brain, in principle, does not matter whether you solve issues of national importance or assemble a constructor. This makes it work and forms new neural connections.

To develop, the brain needs new experiences. You can get them using LEGO sets. Each of them has its own story, and this is a reason to study the issue and learn something new. For example, by assembling the legendary Italian Fiat 500 with a sunroof and folding easel in the trunk, you will completely immerse yourself in the atmosphere of luxurious life of the 60s of the last century. The Harley ‑ Davidson Fat Boy Build Kit with Milwaukee ‑ Eight® engine, movable pistons, twin exhaust pipes and other realistic details will give you the opportunity to touch the history of the creation of the iconic model of the famous brand.

3. To please your inner child

As the joke says, if you didn’t have a bicycle as a child, but now you have a BMW, then as a child you still didn’t have a bicycle. Not every family could afford or considered it necessary to purchase a LEGO set, although many dreamed of it. Collecting the construction set in adulthood, you can fill this gaping void. It turns out quite a psychotherapeutic effect.

However, if you carefully store your children's sets, feel free to get them from the mezzanine. The famous LEGO bricks in a familiar shape were first released in 1958. This means that parts from sets, even with a fifty-year history, will ideally fit modern ones.

4. Work on self-esteem

Everyone has bad days when nothing comes out. One way to regain faith in yourself is to do something that you can definitely do. Collecting something with LEGO bricks is a great option. You will have a pleasant time and get a guaranteed good result.

And all thanks to how carefully the LEGO company approaches the manufacture of their sets. The forms that are used for the production of parts are made with an error of no more than 0.002 millimeters. That is why the cubes are so firmly attached to each other, and there are no gaps between them. Plus, the parts are incredibly durable - and it's easy to check. If you step on a cube, who will be hurt - you or him?

5. Get rid of stress

Activities that require a high concentration of attention can help you cope with anxiety. When you build a constructor, solve logic puzzles or paint pictures, you distract from problems and concentrate on the present moment. Surveys have shown that after assembling a LEGO, 91% of adults feel noticeably better.

You will get the most benefit if you give preference to constructors with a large enough number of details. For example, collect, in which there are 2,504 cubes. Painstaking work and cozy themes will help you immerse yourself in a state akin to a meditative one. And the benefits of meditation in dealing with stress are undeniable.

6. Seek inspiration

Creativity is not a gift from above, but a fully trained skill. When you engage the nervous system, it has a beneficial effect on the imagination. And it, in turn, is responsible for the development of spatial thinking and the ability to find non-standard solutions.

Any LEGO set can be assembled according to the instructions, or you can use bricks to create something unique. For outside inspiration, check out the LEGO website for a constantly updated selection of ideas for your creativity.

Are you ready for a truly massive challenge? In 2009, British host James May built a house with LEGO bricks for the James May's Toy Stories program. To create a life-size dwelling, he needed 2.4 million parts and more than a thousand volunteers.

7. Collecting something really useful

LEGO has great potential in terms of collecting, which in itself can be a fun and rewarding hobby.

Choose a theme that interests you to take your collecting to the next level. For example, if you love Star Wars, you can approach the issue on a very large scale. For the first time, LEGO released a set based on this universe in 1999, and for 21 years now it has continued to delight fans of the cult saga with new releases. In the lineup, the collectible helmets of Boba Fett, the attack aircraft and pilot of the TIE fighter, stand out especially. Such sets are not only an opportunity to spend time pleasantly and useful while assembling, but also decorate a true fan's shelf.

The largest private collection belongs to Australian Frank Smoes. In 2017, he even got into the Guinness Book of Records with her. At that time, he owned 3,837 sets, no less than 1, 2 million parts and more than 8,000 minifigures.

8. Improve your math skills

Studies show that people who spend a lot of time building various objects from the construction set are better at math problems. It's all about the strong positive relationship between spatial ability and math skills.

If you love numbers, here's something interesting: There are eight ways to connect two 8-pin LEGO pieces. For three parts there are already 1,060 options, for six - 915 103 765. These values can be calculated, or can be set in practice - as you like.

9. Develop fine motor skills

Working with small details involves several important systems at once: visual, muscular, bone, and also nervous, since there are many nerve endings at the fingertips. While you relax and assemble the LEGO bricks, your brain is actively working and getting new experiences. This helps to improve the mechanism of motor planning - thinking through your actions before starting to perform them. Especially if the set contains 864 parts, and you need to assemble a miniature model of the International Space Station from them. For more experienced LEGO users, there are more serious tasks: for example, Old Trafford - the home stadium of Manchester United football club in 1: 600 scale, which consists of 3,898 parts.

10. Upgrade social skills

Many scholarship programs and business schools are introducing classes where a group of students work together to build something with LEGO bricks, plastic cups, or other handy materials. From the outside, it seems that a bunch of adults are just doing nonsense. However, it is precisely with such interaction that it is easy to determine who is taking on what roles in the team, and also to improve mutual understanding.

The LEGO universe itself also has its own community. The first LEGO man was created in 1978, and since then their number has exceeded 4 billion.

11. Get an interesting offline hobby

A modern person can easily answer the question of what to do with himself if he has at least one gadget and unlimited Internet at his fingertips. Without them, the search for entertainment turns into a task with an asterisk. The LEGO constructor solves this problem.

Do you like to travel? Collect your Tokyo with all the major attractions: Tokyo Skytree, TV Tower, Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, International Expo Center, Chidorigafuchi Park and Shibuya Junction. Do you consider yourself a movie fan? Recreate the Fast and Furious chase with the Dodge Charger driven by Dominic Toretto. You can even repeat the famous trick of this hero by putting the car on the rear wheels.

12. Find new friends

With age, people lose friends - this is a scientifically proven fact. But the need for friendship does not disappear.

One way to make friends at any age is to look for like-minded hobbyists. Over the years, there are more and more fans of the LEGO constructor, and thanks to the Internet, they are easier to find. All over the world, they unite in LEGO fan communities - AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO). In Russia, you can find fans of the legendary construction set in the community of enthusiasts DoubleBrick, on the LEGO fan forum, as well as in the VKontakte group LTR (LEGO Technic Russia). Participants discuss new items, engage in creativity based on their hobbies and assemble large-scale sets together.