Stay Busy, Be Happy

by Tanya Thomas on  August 13, 2010 at 2:25 AM Research News
  •   Print
  •   Share
  •   Comments
  •  Text 
A new study has revealed that people who constantly have something to do, even something pointless, are happier than those sitting idle.

Christopher K. Hsee and Adelle X. Yang, of the University of Chicago and and Liangyan Wang, of Shanghai Jiaotong University conducted the study.

The obvious reasons are to make a living, earn money or even to help others.

"I think there's something deeper: We have excessive energy and we want to avoid idleness," said Hsee.

For the study, volunteers completed a survey, then had to wait 15 minutes before the next survey would be ready.

They could drop off the completed survey at a nearby location and wait out the remaining time or drop it off at a location farther away, where walking back and forth would keep them busy for the 15 minutes.

Either way, they would receive a candy when they handed in their survey.

Volunteers who chose to stay busy by going to the faraway location were found to be happier than those who chose to be idle.

And if the candies offered at the two locations were different, they were more likely to choose the far location-because they could make up a justification for the trip, Hsee and his colleagues said.

"If we can devise a mechanism for idle people to engage in activity that is at least not harmful, I think it is better than destructive busyness," Hsse said.

The research is published in Psychological Science.

Source-ANI

 Email Email   RSS Feeds RSS Feeds   Print this page Print   Save this page Save   Link Link   Syndicate Syndicate   Comments Comments   Bookmark and Share
 
Comment & Contribute
Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters

Notify me when reply is posted
I agree to the terms and conditions
  
If you have a question about health related issues, you can now post it in our Ask An Expert section on our community website Medwonders.com and get answers from our panel of experts.
X

Medwonders Health Network

  • Health News Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :
  • News Quick Links
News Central Health Watch
Latest Health News Health In Focus
News Category (500+) Breaking Health News
Popular News Celebrating Life
Health News and Press Release Medindia - Exclusive
News Photo Gallery India Special
News Video Gallery Lifestyle and Wellness
News From Other Resources
News Categories:  
Diabetes Health Center

Research Related News

» Overgrowth of Bacteria in Gut Blamed For Irritable Bowel Syndrome » New Drug That Only Attacks Cancer Cells Developed
» Personality Traits Linked To Longevity in Centenarians » Lack of Vitamin D in Diet Raises Stroke Risk in Japanese-Americans
» Why Bovine TB Continues to Spread Demystified in New Research » Seaweed Pill May Help Treat Arthritis
» P. Aeruginosa Infection Leads to Worse Outcomes and Increased Hospitalizations in COPD Patients » Hormone Boosts Production of Molecules Which Fight Skin Infection
Read More >>