In some countries, they nap in the middle of the day. They stop, look around, and enjoy their lives and the simple act of being alive.
But things are a little different in America and elsewhere in the world where productivity is key.
People’s main objective is to work and pay their taxes and bills just to survive. In a world where you’re always on the go and pushing forward, the act of “dolce far niente” can be considered a crime in one’s own psyche. Or at least a sign of laziness.
But research shows that being “lazy” can be a sign of intelligence. According to The Independent, a U.S. based study found that people with higher IQs or “thinkers” were less active than “non-thinkers.”
They spent more time thinking than doing since they were less likely to get bored easily.
“Physical activity level is an important contributor to overall human health and obesity. Research has shown that humans possess a number of traits that influence their physical activity level including social cognition,” the study said. “We examined whether the trait of ‘need for cognition’ was associated with daily physical activity levels.”
Florida Gulf Coast University researchers gave a group of students some tests which rated their “need for cognition” and asked students to rate how strongly they agree, “I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems” and “I only think as hard as I have to.”
The group of students was divided into two groups, “30 thinkers” and “30 non-thinkers.”
Each of the groups was given activity monitors to wear on their wrists that tracked all of their movements and physical activity. The study found that the group determined to be “thinkers” were much less active than the “non-thinkers.”
But that was during the week. There was no difference between the two groups on the weekends which researchers had no explanation for.
“The overall findings showed that low-need-for-cognition individuals were more physically active, but this difference was most pronounced during the 5-day work week and lessened during the weekend,” the study said.
They did say that the findings could suggest that non-thinkers get bored more easily and have a need to fill their time with physical activity.
Researchers did, however, warn that “thinkers” could be more prone to living a sedentary lifestyle which could be unhealthy.
The study said that these people should take care to get some physical activity into their routines.
“Ultimately, an important factor that may help more thoughtful individuals combat their lower average activity levels is awareness,” the study said.
“Awareness of their tendency to be less active, coupled with an awareness of the cost associated with inactivity, more thoughtful people may then choose to become more active throughout the day.”
But you might not want to take all of this to heart.
The sample size for this study was reported to be pretty small and there could be a number of factors affecting why people are or aren’t active.
You can learn more about the study in the video below.
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