Leisure and Well-Being: Examining the Benefits of Physical, Sedentary, and Social Activities during COVID

• In Event: 20820 - Section on Medical Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 4. Health Behaviors

Abstract

Research suggests that leisure activities can be beneficial for health and well-being. There is growing evidence that not all leisure is equally beneficial, and that the salutary effects may vary by type of activity, duration, sociality, and context. There is also evidence that access to leisure activities, and their ensuing benefits, are not distributed equally across groups, and vary by gender, race, age, class, family structure, and even within families. Further, other conditions may affect the types of leisure people engage in as well as their potential implications for well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic, with the isolation and disruptions of daily life it wrought, generated a unique moment that disrupted much of daily life, altering how people organized and lived their lives in various domains including work, education, family, social, and even leisure life. Although a growing body of research has begun to uncover the pandemic’s effects on various areas of life such as education, work, and the household division of labor, less is known about how leisure was practiced and experienced during this crisis with what effects on stress and well-being. With this in mind, this study investigates the leisure time use of adults in American families during the pandemic and the association of different types of leisure with well-being. We use time diary data from the National Couples’ Health and Time Study (NCHAT) which includes several categories of leisure and measures happiness, stress, and engagement during these activities. Preliminary findings reveal differences in time spent on varying types of leisure, with more time on sedentary activities such as watching TV, as compared to time spent engaged in physical activity or socializing. Respondent reports of happiness, stress, and engagement while participating in leisure varied by type. Social and physical activities were associated with greater well-being than sedentary leisure.

Authors

• Teresa Toguchi Swartz, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• Emma Goldstein, University of Minnesota Sociology Dept and Minnesota Population Center

• Claire M. Kamp Dush, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities