Science Says That More Leisure Time Does Not Equate to Improved Well-Being
The way we spend our free time matters
Time is big business.
There are thousands of books, apps, and articles on time management, productivity, and life hacks that are designed to save us precious minutes in our busy day. Time is a finite resource, and we strive to increase efficiency on necessary tasks to have more opportunities for leisure.
We assume that having more free time will make us happier and improve our life satisfaction, but science says it is not that simple.
How Much Free Time Do We Need?
Research has found that more free time does not always equate to increased happiness. From zero to two hours of leisure time (time to do any activity of your choosing including exercise, spending time with friends, reading a book, watching TV), our well-being increases. It remains fairly steady from two to five hours, but the impact of this time on our overall life satisfaction starts to decline after five hours.
The relationship between free time and well-being is a bell-shaped curve — there is a sweet spot for leisure.
The study’s authors, Sharif, Mogilner, & Hershfield (2021), state, “Whether young or old, working or…
