Study links too much free time to lower sense of wellbeing

 

研究：閒暇時間太多會降低幸福感

【摘要2021.10.11.自由】◎陳成良

Feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list can certainly make you unhappy, but new research suggests that more free time might not be the magic elixir many of us dream it could be.

被待辦事項清單壓得喘不過氣來，肯定會讓你不開心，但新的研究表明，更多的空閒時間，可能不是我們許多人夢寐以求的靈丹妙藥。

In a new study released last week, researchers analyzed data from two large-scale surveys about how Americans spend their time. Together, the surveys included more than 35,000 respondents.

在上週發佈的一項新研究中，研究人員分析了關於美國人如何支配時間的兩項大型調查數據。這些調查一共涵蓋了逾3.5萬名受訪者。

The researchers found that people with more free time generally had higher levels of subjective well-being ― but only up to a point.

研究人員發現，閒暇時間更多的人一般主觀幸福感更強，但也是有限度的。

People who had up to two hours of free time a day generally reported they felt better than those who’d had less time. But people who had five or more hours of free time a day generally said they felt worse.

從受訪者的報告來看，每天有長達兩小時空閒時間的人，通常比那些空閒時間較少的人感覺更幸福，但每天有五個或更多小時空閒時間的人通常表示他們感覺更糟。

新聞辭典

elixir：名詞， 靈丹妙藥；煉金藥；長生不老藥。例句：Keep your mind awake and active; that’s the only youth elixir. （保持頭腦清醒和靈活便是保持年輕的唯一靈丹妙藥。）

up to a point，片語，在一定程度上。例句：Of course there is some truth in all this, but only up to a point.（這當然有些道理，但僅在一定程度上。）