We all look forward to having free time. But you either feel like you don’t have enough free time, or you have too much, and you become bored.

But is having one better than the other?

According to a new study, people are happier when they have more free time. It’s not surprising, but they only felt that way up to a certain point – two hours per day. If people find that they have more than five hours of free time per day, then they had a more negative opinion of their free time – just as bad as if they don’t have enough.

Too little free time makes people feel like they don’t have enough time to relax and do what they want to do, and too much makes them feel lazy and lacking purpose.

So, since the sweet spot for your wellbeing is right in the middle, researchers suggest those who feel like they have too little free time should try to find a few more leisure hours, and those with a lot of it should plan to do something more productive rather than wait for things to happen.

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Are you a regular coffee drinker? If so, it’s probably affecting your health – both positively and negatively at the same time.

Coffee drinkers get more steps in each day than non-coffee drinkers. But, by staying more active, they’re also getting less sleep overall.

The caffeine gets you moving – about 1,000 more steps per day on average. But the caffeine keeps you up – you get about 36 minutes less sleep at night. And the more coffee you drink, the less sleep you’ll get.

The big takeaway is that coffee shouldn’t be looked at as either good or bad for your health, because the effects are different. But if you do value one benefit over the other, take into consideration just how much coffee you drink every day.

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Your workday is over! But if that doesn’t excite you, there’s a few easy things you can do to further improve your mood and, best of all, it’s free!

Send a message to someone you haven’t spoken too in a while – even if it’s a meme, reconnecting with a friend is always a mood booster.

Make an errand list. It may not seem fun, but if you can organize them and start crossing them off, you’ll feel better with each one that gets off the list, and the lack of procrastination will help reduce stress.

Check your vacation balance. You may have to ask HR how many days you’ve got left but knowing that amount will help you to start thinking and visualizing that vacation.

Lastly, and since it’s the end of the workday you might be doing it already – watch relaxing videos. Nature videos are good, to increase feelings of joy, amusement, and curiosity and reduce feelings of fatigue, anger, and stress.

See? There’s a reason why cat videos are so popular!

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Maybe you’ve heard that to make a new habit stick, you’ve got to stick with it for 21 days. But if you’re on Day 20, you may have to keep going a bit longer.

Researchers found that the magic 21 number isn’t based on any scientific fact, because other factors are at play, like what the new habit is, and your own personality.

They compared two healthy activities of varying skills – regular handwashing and regularly going to the gym.

The handwashing group picked up the habit after a few weeks, but the gym group took six months before it became a habit. And those who hadn’t been to the gym in a long time took even longer.

The study found that the more challenging an activity, the more patience is required before it becomes a habit. 

So, if you’re looking to stick with those new year’s resolutions, expect it to take longer than you initially thought.

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