Free time: consume in moderation!

Too much free time kills free time? This is suggested by a recent study published on September 9 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. American researchers from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania claim that free time is beneficial for well-being, but only up to a certain point which, once reached, could be almost as bad for health as to have too little time for oneself.

Well-being increases up to two hours of free time

“People often complain about being too busy and express their desire for more time, but is more time really linked to greater happiness?”, wondered Marissa Sharif, lead author of the study. With her team of researchers, she reports that lack of free time leads to more stress and less well-being. “If too little time is bad, having more time is not always better”, she adds. The study authors analyzed data from 21,736 Americans. The latter provided a detailed account of what they did in the previous 24 hours, indicating the time of day and the duration of each activity as well as their feeling of well-being.

Examination of the results revealed that well-being increases as free time increases. After about two hours, they noticed that it stabilizes before declining after 5 hours. “Correlations in both directions were statistically significant”, report the researchers.

A tipping point

They then compared these results to data from 13,639 workers who participated in a nationwide study of changes in the workforce between 1992 and 2008. Among the many questions in the survey, participants were asked about their free time and their subjective well-being, which was measured as life satisfaction.

Again, the researchers found that higher levels of free time are significantly associated with higher levels of well-being, but only up to a point.

Average free time for more well-being

To take this a step further, the study authors conducted two online experiments involving more than 6,000 participants. In the first experiment, participants were asked to imagine having some discretionary time each day for at least six months. The volunteers were then divided into three groups based on their free time: low (15 minutes per day), moderate (3.5 hours per day) or high (7 hours per day). Each was then asked to indicate how much pleasure, happiness and satisfaction they would feel.

Participants in the low and high free time groups reported lower well-being than the moderate discretionary time group. Researchers found that those with little free time felt more stressed than those with a moderate amount, contributing to less well-being.

To be happy, you have to be productive

In the second experiment, the researchers examined the potential role of productivity. Participants were asked to imagine having moderate (3.5 hours) or high (7 hours) free time per day, but they were also asked to imagine spending that time in productive ways – such as working out, spending hobbies or running – or unproductive with activities like watching television or using the computer.

The researchers found that participants with more free time reported lower levels of well-being when they engaged in unproductive activities. However, when engaged in productive activities, those with more free time felt as good as those with a moderate amount of free time.

Having a goal is better

“Our findings suggest that being left with entire days free to fill at one’s discretion can leave a person equally unhappy.concluded Marissa Sharif. Instead, people should strive for a moderate amount of free time. In cases where people find themselves with excessive amounts of discretionary time, such as retirement or having left a job, our results suggest that these people would benefit from devoting their new time to a purpose..”