How much free time is too much, according to science

in today’s busy society Between work obligations and family responsibilities, free time can feel like an impossible luxury. long lazy days To whatever you enjoy. but,may seem like a good time, it turned out Too many good things can happen :Tactually have a lot of free time It’s just as harmful as too little.

As Cathy HolmesUCLA social psychologists studying the effects of free time on happiness recently CNBCbut “exists”lack of time make us more depressed and stressed, I’m mentally exhausted.” that too many Free time “undermines the sense of purpose.”

ideal free time

As Holmes and her colleagues discovered, there is an approximate ideal amount of free time This corresponds to an overall high level of life satisfaction.To study this correlationthey examined a dataset of 35,375 Americans. It contained information about the average amount of free time.it tracked tthe time they had for leisure activities like Reading, watching TV, spending time with friends, or just relaxing, they compared that to their overall satisfaction with life.

As they found, the people who were most satisfied with their lives had between two and five hours of free time per day. tHorses under 2 hours were more stressed. Those who exceeded 5 hours also reported dissatisfaction.

as an author I have written“Sufficient time for discretionary activities can have a diminishing effect on people’s enjoyment of those activities. Too much and you start to see it as nothing special and it robs you of the joy you feel more often.

How you spend your free time matters

as Holmes advise, using your free time wisely can help you make it more meaningful. This is especially important when you are pressed for time. Her suggestions include regular exercise such as walking, hiking, and fitness classes.make time for small acts of kindness; Find a way to experience awe over time in nature or museum; Spending meaningful time with loved ones.