Maybe as one increases one’s free time human, the better he feels, but when he grows even more he can work negatively.
More free time is significantly associated with greater mental satisfaction, but at some point too much free time ceases to increase pleasure and can even be experienced as something bad, according to a new study by psychologists in the US.
The study shows that only when extra free time is used in productive activities can it further increase people’s mental well-being, something that should be especially taken into account by retirees.
Researchers at the Universities of Pennsylvania and the University of California-Los Angeles, led by Assistant Professor Marissa Sharif, published the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in the American Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. people who gave detailed information about what they did in the previous 24 hours and at the same time reported their psychological condition. It was found that initially as free time increased, people felt better. But after about two hours the satisfaction stabilized, while after five hours of free time it started to decrease.
The study also analyzed data on another 13,639 employees, correlating their free time with their degree of satisfaction. And in this case, it was found that more free time brought more pleasure, but from one point onwards mental well-being “reached the ceiling” and extra free time did not bring more joy.
In a third phase of the research, the researchers conducted two online experiments with more than 6,000 participants, who were asked to imagine having more or less free time at their disposal during the day for several months. Those who imagined having only 15 minutes a day, but also those who imagined having seven hours a day as free time, reported that they felt less pleasure than those who were in the middle of the free time scale (3.5 hours a day) . But when the same people were called to imagine that in their very free time they do some productive activity (physical exercise, hobbies, etc.), instead of something counterproductive (eg watching TV), then even those with seven hours free time during the day stated that they would feel just as good as those who had 3.5 hours at their disposal.
“People often complain that they are too busy and need more free time. But is he really associated with greater happiness? We found that indeed the lack of free time during the day implies more stress and less subjective well-being. “But while very little free time is bad, most is not always better,” Sharif said.
“Our findings show that if one has whole days off to do what one wants, one can end up feeling unhappy. People should rather have a moderate level of free time. In cases where they have too much free time, e.g. “Due to retirement or dismissal, our findings show that they will feel better if they dedicate their free time to a purpose,” he added.
Source of RES EIA
READ ALSO