Too much free time may be almost as bad as too little
Worker ant societies can't chill
As an individual's free time increases, so does that person's sense of well-being -- but only up to a point. Too much free time can be also be a bad thing, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
"People often complain about being too busy and express wanting more time. But is more time actually linked to greater happiness? We found that having a dearth of discretionary hours in one's day results in greater stress and lower subjective well-being," said Marissa Sharif, PhD, an assistant professor of marketing at The Wharton School and lead author of the paper. "However, while too little time is bad, having more time is not always better."
The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Researchers analyzed the data from 21,736 Americans who participated in the American Time Use Survey between 2012 and 2013. Participants provided a detailed account of what they did during the prior 24 hours -- indicating the time of day and duration of each activity -- and reported their sense of well-being. The researchers found that as free time increased, so did well-being, but it leveled off at about two hours and began to decline after five. Correlations in both directions were statistically significant.
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