Well, this is a turn-up for the books.
Great news for anybody who's spent the bank holiday weekend on a Netflix binge! Your general inability or reluctance to get everything done could mean that you're actually incredibly smart.
Findings from a study in the USA appear to support the idea that people with a high IQ get bored less easily and therefore spend more time 'engaged in thought'. On the other hand, dumber people are apparently more likely to stimulate their minds with external activities such as exercising.
As part of the study last year, researchers at Florida Gulf Coast gave a test to a group of students. It asked the students to rate how strongly they agreed with statements such as ‘I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions and problems’, and ‘I only think as hard as I have to.’
The research, led by Todd McElroy, selected 30 ‘thinkers’ and 30 ‘non-thinkers', who were then monitored over seven days via a device on their wrist that tracked their levels of activity. At the end of it, member of the 'thinking group' were far less active than the non-thinkers over the week.
The
British Psychological Society quoted the study, saying: "Ultimately, an important factor that may help more thoughtful individuals combat their lower average activity levels is awareness.
"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."
Sounds like as good an excuse for lazing about as any.
