We all love to enjoy free time, and no one is aware that participating in leisure activities has a positive impact on our well-being and our state of mind. But are we really aware of all the benefits of enjoying quality leisure time on physical and mental health in the short, medium and long term?
There are many epidemiological studies, from different perspectives (sociological, economic and psychological) and in different countries, that correlate leisure time and activities with higher levels of physical health and psychological well-being.
Is the quantity and quality of free time the same?
While it is true that the studies we were talking about have been carried out in countries such as the United States, China, Turkey, South Korea or Japan – and, therefore, in different cultures –, we must keep in mind that all They correspond to contexts in which people work long or very long working hours.
That is why many authors have used the number of hours of free time – non-work hours – as an objective measure of leisure. And they have related this proportion of time to variables linked to happiness and quality of life.
In principle, most studies suggest that the number of hours of free time is not as important as the quality and perceived satisfaction of the use and enjoyment of this time. Of course, when it comes to vacations, the length of rest periods seems to be a key factor for our long-term physical health.
Does any leisure activity have the same impact?
Beyond the numerous articles that relate the benefits of sport and physical exercise on people’s health and well-being, there are other activities that are good for our body and mind.
Without going any further, a recent study carried out on a sample of more than 10,000 people observed that the leisure activities that had the greatest impact on people’s satisfaction and feeling of happiness were traveling, participating in cultural activities (such as writing, painting, taking photographs or playing an instrument) and attending social activities. On the other hand, watching sports and passive activities such as television, as well as surfing the Internet, negatively impacted this well-being.
That the holidays are long and spread over several periods throughout the year (rather than concentrated) is also positive. In fact, it has been observed that people who enjoy longer and more frequent vacation periods have a lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, a multitude of research supports that going on vacation also clearly increases our levels of happiness and emotional well-being, observing a decrease in depressive and anxious symptoms.
Curiously, it has also been observed that these positive effects on the mood of workers appear up to four weeks before the start of the vacation period. That is to say, improvements in emotional well-being begin from the moment we begin to plan and anticipate our vacations.
Museums and theater during the week
So do we have to wait for vacation periods to be able to enjoy the positive effects of free time? Not at all. Other studies carried out with different samples of subjects have shown the important benefits for our well-being of leisure time during the week, which is mainly composed of participation in cultural and artistic activities, such as going to the theater, concerts, visiting museums, etc. . That is, active leisure activities, not passive.
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Less stress and more social interaction
One of the common denominators that appears in most scientific articles is the positive impact that leisure time has on stress reduction. It seems important to take this fact into account, when several studies have shown that 41% of adult employees indicate that they usually feel stressed in their workplace.
Another factor that many authors point to to explain the benefits of leisure activities on health and well-being is that, in many cases, they involve interaction and social participation with other people or groups of people. From the field of psychology, social support is considered one of the main protective factors for physical and mental health. On the contrary, the feeling of loneliness seems to be one of the main risk factors for our well-being and even premature death.
Another key determining factor in this equation is intrinsic motivation. Intrinsically motivated behaviors are those that people perform for the mere pleasure and satisfaction of doing them, which do not pursue any external consequences, given that the behavior itself is the objective itself. When people move through intrinsic motivation, levels of emotional and psychological well-being clearly increase, also covering many of the basic psychological needs such as autonomy, competence and affinity, among others.
Finally, several studies indicate that the perception of a life with meaning and purpose is positively correlated with better physical and mental health, with greater social participation and also with greater longevity. In this sense, those leisure activities that resonate with our values or beliefs would be feeding the perception of a meaningful life and contributing to increasing life expectancy.
Leisure as a right
Taking a vacation or simply enjoying free time on weekdays can clearly reduce the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases and the premature death that is usually associated with them. But the psychological benefits of leisure time also have an impact on our life expectancy.
Given the multiple physical and mental health benefits of leisure spaces and times, we should begin to consider that enjoying quality leisure should be a right and not a privilege. Therefore, it should be available to all people, especially the most vulnerable groups, who are the ones who can most clearly benefit.
