Role of Leisure Satisfaction in Health and Happiness

Leisure refers to activities that a person voluntarily engages in when they are free from any work, social or familial responsibilities. Leisure satisfaction is the positive perceptions or feelings that an individual forms, elicits and gains health and happiness as a result of engaging in leisure activities and choices. What can contribute to leisure satisfaction is to what degree an individual is currently satisfied with their leisure experiences and activities. An individual might attain positive feelings of contentment and happiness that result from the satisfaction of needs. Participation in leisure activities and leisure satisfaction are inextricably linked to an individual's health. Caldwell (2005) suspects that leisure activities may be associated with a number of defensive traits that enhance a person’s resiliency to negative life experiences. Some aspects of leisure activities that can act as protective factors. Leisure activities, although ranging in types, have also proven to be beneficial to health cross-culturally. In a study by Hribernik and Mussap (2010), leisure satisfaction was found to predict unique variance in life satisfaction, supporting its inclusion as a distinct life domain contributing to subjective well-being. The present paper is an effort to analyse the role of Leisure Satisfaction in Health and Happiness.