The 5 Key Benefits of Leisure - Literature review Example

Benefits of Leisure By Insert Name Institution Instructor Date Question 1. Outline the 5 key benefits of leisure. Do you think they are feasible to achieve in modern society? If so, how? If not, why not? Benefits of Leisure It may seem unbelievable that, even during times of raging war, soldiers do find time to play cards and socialize among themselves. Similarly, one may not find it realistic that people in the busiest offices do find time off the busy schedule and engage in a chit chat with friends and family. However impossible these things may seem, they do happen in the contemporary world. They are real, and so is the essence of leisure. Leisure has become an essential part of human life in the world today, with professionals from all fields championing for breaks off the back breaking schedules. While most people believe that work-life conflicts cannot give way for leisure, scholars have made leisure a primary topic of research. Leisure is a critical aspect of sociology in the world today. Among the key benefits of leisure are such factors as enhanced economic development (Morgan et al 2010), social development (Stebbins 2007), physical health (Human Kinetics 2013), spiritual health (Blair et al.p. 253-p.256) and psychological health (Jessup et al 2010). This paper endeavors to explore the key benefits of health, and explaining how leisure benefits are feasible to achieve in the contemporary world. According to Abu-Omar and Rutten (2008. p.319-p.323), Leisure is simply free time or time off the normal schedule, be it work or school commitments. While leisure does not have a standard definition, all scholars define the institution as the time taken off work, and not spent in the necessary activities. Apparently, most people find it difficult to differentiate between leisure and necessary activities. Abu-Omar and Rutten (2008.p.319-p.323) point out that the misconception that sleep and eating are leisure is common. While this remains debatable, eating and sleeping cannot be classified as leisure because they are necessary and every normal human being is bound to engage in such as they are required for bare survival. Leitner and Leitner (2012) argue that leisure is any time that is neither spent on work and other compulsory activities such as education, nor necessary and natural processes. From the two definitions it is clear that leisure is free time. Such time can be spent in whichever way the user pleases. Worth mentioning is the actuality that there are cultural differences in the definitions of leisure. Culture comes in, in the sense that culture greatly influences the activities that are carried out for leisure (Veal 2003). Additionally, culture affects the preferences for leisure and work. For example, the culture of a workaholic will be different from that of a normal person. While a workaholic does work for leisure, a normal person will always seek to evade work the best they can (Stebbins 2007). Culture also influences the activities. To illustrate this, one can consider a family that always spends leisure time together. Whether or not such a family will go out for swimming greatly depends on the culture of the community. While a mature girl will go out swimming with her father and the whole family in the western culture, this will never happen in the conservative cultures that consider a girl in a bikini naked. In most of the Arab world, for instance, it is considered an abomination for a man to see the nakedness of his daughter. Despite the many cultural differences in the definition of leisure and what constitutes such leisure, there are many benefits that accrue to leisure activities (Blair et al 2009.p. p.253-256.). The first and most common benefit of leisure is enhancement of physical health (Human Kinetics 2013). The human body is one complicated creation. Understanding the human body is not easy, especially considering that lifestyle has a significant effect on the health of the body. Currently, the culture, especially in the western world is in favor of the consumption of fast foods (Veal 2003). Fast foods are among the worst consumables in the world today. Nutritionists advise that people should always endeavor to keep off fast foods because such foods are associated with too much unhealthy sugars and high cholesterol content. Apparently, it is not easy to keep off fast foods in a world where such foods appear like the most convenient option. To safeguard one’s health, people should endeavor to engage in such leisure activities as jogging and taking long walks (Human Kinetics 2013). Such exercises regulate the cholesterol content in the body by burning off unnecessary dense lipids. Physical exercises associated with leisure such as athletics, swimming and long walks or even cycling can help an individual keep off the cardiovascular problems associated with a life devoid of physical activity (Mclean and Hurd 2012). Cardiovascular diseases are those ailments associated with the heart and the flow of blood. Leisure gives a person the time to engage in play and other physically engaging activities which boost the flow of blood in the body and prevent the heart from getting such ailments. Hypertension is another common disease associated with physically inactive life. Hypertension, a condition commonly referred to as high blood pressure is a killer disease that can be prevented through appropriate use of leisure time. According to Blair et al (2009.p.253-p.256) people, particularly men love physique. They prefer to be associated with muscle bulk because this enhances their masculine look. Leisure time at the gym is one way of achieving the goals of body building. Blair et al (2009. p.253-p.256). note that spiritual health is one of the most common aspects of leisure, especially in oriental cultures. In their work, Blair et al (2009) observe that most oriental cultures, especially the old cultures and religions such as Buddhism and Confucianism are associated with spiritual use of leisure. According to such religions, leisure is the time spent by an individual to bond with nature, and with the Supreme Being. In the eastern cultures, especially before the 19th century, meditation was a primary leisure time activity. Even to this day, there are people that spend all their leisure time on meditation. Such meditation helps an individual bond with the natural environment and with the Supreme Being. Spiritual health is particularly essential, because those religions that uphold the act, argue that it is not only highly spiritual but also therapeutic (Abu-Omar and Rutten 2008. p.319-p.323). Apparently, the act of meditation is considered therapeutic because it enhances mental health by relieving such things as stress and headaches. Meditation eliminates mental fatigue as it helps a person “lock” themselves in their own world, away from the earthly troubles. According to Morgan et al (2010), leisure is one among the most important ways of building the economy. Today, the households across the world spend a total amount of 14 trillion US dollars on leisure alone. 14 trillion US dollars is an amount that can finance the budgets of various countries for years. This explains how economically important leisure is. The leisure activities that people engage in contribute to economic growth in one way or the other. Veal (2003) explains that by simply boarding a plane to go touring a place, a person has contributed to the economy because the amount they pay to the airline benefits both the airline and the government through profits and taxes respectively. Similarly, when people visit luxury beach hotels and make the best out of the holiday, they contribute to the development of the economy in a multiplicity of ways (Morgan et al 2010). The first way through which such tourism can contribute to the economy is through promoting the tourism industry. Apparently, tourism is a primary sector in most economies. In Puerto Rico, for example, tourism is the backbone of the economy. Minus leisure, such an economy goes down on its knees. The second way in which the leisure activities can contribute to economic growth is through boosting the catering and hotel industries (Morgan et al 2010). Such industries rely almost entirely on leisure activities. Similarly, the sports and gaming sectors rely heavily on leisure. Such sectors make a big contribution to the economies of the respective countries. Today, football also referred to as soccer is the most profitable game in the world. This is especially the case in Europe. The monies generated from such games are huge sums that can change the direction of the economy. It is because people spend their leisure time on watching soccer that the clubs in Europe thrive (Human Kinetics 2013). There are countless ways through which leisure contributes to the economy. Among the most recognized indirect ways through which leisure can help build the economy, is the fact that when an employer grants breaks to the workers, there is scientifically proven evidence that the workers will be more productive than workers that are forced to work without breaks (Jessup et al 2010. p.419-p.430). Scientific evidence shows with regular breaks in between the working schedule, productivity can improve twofold. With high organizational productivity, the entire economy will develop significantly. Stebbins (2007) argues that the main positive effect of leisure is the actuality that it enhances social development. In explaining this, Stebbins (2007) uses a number of definitions of social development. According to the first definition, social development is a situation where the society is able to access quality social amenities and facilities such as public swimming pools and sporting grounds. Summarily, a socially developed community is one that can effortlessly access social facilities. On the contrary, a socially underdeveloped community is one in which people cannot readily access public facilities. Where a government uphold leisure, it is likely that social infrastructure will develop (Mclean and Hurd 2012). The second definition of social development is a situation where an individual expands their social network. By social network, it means friends. During leisure, it is likely that a person will make friends from the strangers they interact with. Apparently friends are important as they sharpen the social skills of a person. Still on social development, Stebbins (2007) explains that leisure helps an individual bond with their families. Apparently, family is the most essential basic functional unit of society. Jessup et al (2010.p.419-p.430) explain that one of the most notable benefits of leisure is psychological health. Psychological health refers to mental wellbeing and development of the mind. Speaking of psychological wellbeing, leisure enables an individual reduce mental fatigue. As matter of fact, fatigue is a common phenomenon, especially in the contemporary world where people work round the clock in furtherance of the twenty four hour economy doctrine (Mclean and Hurd 2012). Mental fatigue, if not taken care of in the early stages, can degenerate into madness and insanity. Such insanity renders a person unproductive in the society. In order to avoid such results, an individual should actively embrace leisure. Embracing leisure means participating in various activities – activities that are social in nature – so as to avoid being stressed. Speaking of stress, leisure is arguably the best therapy when it comes to the elimination of depression – a condition that can cause worse ailments such as stomach ulcers, hypertension and so on. Leitner and Leitner (2012) argue that in the contemporary world, the above benefits are feasible to achieve. Contrary to common misconception that the current social order does not give room for leisure, the current social climate upholds leisure more than the past centuries. Why this is the case is because, in the past centuries, people engaged in activities that were physically involving. As such, they did not see the need for leisure such as sporting and going to the gymnasium. Today, people are watchful of their health. As a result, they endeavor to visit gymnasiums as a way of watching their weights and body health (Human Kinetics 2013). Another reason why the benefits are feasible to achieve is because nutritionists and other experts in consumer science and human applied sciences have championed for leisure in this century more than any other. Employers are responding by installing play centers and gymnasiums at the work place. Additionally, the laws of some countries make break compulsory at the places of work. Schools curricular have compulsory physical education lessons. Such encourage leisure. Breaks are an integral part of the education system. Conclusion In conclusion, it is apparent that, from the foregoing arguments, leisure is an important aspect of healthy living. Notably, leisure not only enhances physical health, but also boosts economic development, social development, psychological health as well as spiritual growth. All these are important aspects of social life. As can be seen from the arguments, leisure can be of essence in enhancing family bonding, social relationships, and mental wellbeing. While most people argue that the benefits of leisure are not achievable in the contemporary world, it is common knowledge that current times favor leisure. Besides, there being various leisure promoting institutions, awareness is being championed for by people from many walks of life. Overall, leisure has more positive than negatives. Reference List Abu-Omar, K., & Rütten, A. 2008. Relation of leisure time, occupational, domestic and commuting physical activity to health indicators in Europe.Preventive Medicine, 47(3), 319-323. Blair, S. N., Morris, J. N., & Ness, R. B. 2009. Healthy hearts-and the universal benefits of being physically active: physical activity and health. Annals of epidemiology, 19(4), 253-256. Human Kinetics (Organization). 2013. Introduction To Recreation And Leisure. Champaign, Il, Human Kinetics Jessup, G. M., Cornell, E., & Bundy, A. C. 2010. The Treasure in Leisure Activities: Fostering Resilience in Young People Who Are Blind. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 104(7), 419-430. Leitner, M. J., & Leitner, S. F. 2012. Leisure enhancement. Urbana, 51, 61801 Mclean, D. D., & Hurd, A. R. 2012. Kraus' Recreation And Leisure In Modern Society. Sudbury, Ma, Jones & Bartlett Learning Morgan, M., Lugosi, P., & Ritchie, J. R. B. 2010. The Tourism And Leisure Experience: Consumer And Managerial Perspectives. Bristol, Channel View Publications Stebbins, R. A. 2007. Serious Leisure A Perspective For Our Time. New Brunswick, N.J., Transaction Publishers Veal, A. J. 2003. Leisure And Tourism Policy And Planning. New York, N.Y, Cabi Pub. Read More