The average American needs 60 ‘lazy days’ a year

Americans need 60 lazy days a year to feel rested and relaxed, according to a recent survey.

The survey of 2,000 Americans investigated how the average person uses their idle days to take care of themselves, as well as the anatomy of a perfect idle day.

It turns out that Americans take lazy days very seriously, with one in five (21%) planning their lazy days in advance and 67% choosing to take their lazy days spontaneously.

Although some forward thinkers (11%) even put their do-nothing days on the calendar weeks ahead of time.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Berkshire Blanket & Home Co. for National Day of the Lazy in August. 10, the survey found that almost three-quarters (72%) are likely to fly under the radar and won’t tell others they’re taking a day to relax at home.

Looking more closely at lazy day trends, Americans are most likely to take lazy days on Sundays (39%) and Saturdays (27%).

And the most disliked lazy day turns out to be Tuesday, according to the findings, with only 5% labeling Tuesday as their lazy day.

When it comes to lazy day activities, or lack thereof, respondents indicated how much time they spend glued to their phones, relaxing and indulging in self-care.

On a typical lazy day, the average person spends two hours lying in bed, one hour eating, three hours watching movies and TV, one hour reading, and two hours moving.

Three hours are spent doing literally absolutely nothing, two hours are spent napping, and a full hour is generally devoted to dreading the next day.

“In honor of National Blanket Day, we wanted to see how Americans relax and rejuvenate during a much-needed lazy day,” said Mei Higgins, Berkshire Blanket & Home Co. vice president of merchandising. “Everyone deserves a day off here and there, maybe even a little more often, and days like these are so important when it comes to well-being. The study even found that almost three in four people (74%) said that lazy days are crucial when it comes to self-care.

The study found that the top feelings that prompt Americans to take lazy days are low mood and energy (55%), burnout (39%) and feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities (34%).

A third even admitted they would have a lazy day if they wanted to avoid people and one in ten (9%) said an existential crisis is enough to warrant a lazy day.

Finding out where people like to hang out on a lazy day, most (58%) will return to the sofa. Although some (4%) said they spend most of their time lying on the floor.

Most people (75%) are more likely to spend the day chilling out if the weather is cool and dreary and the essentials for idle days, according to respondents, are comfortable clothing (47%) and a blanket dresser or nail (40%), along with a clean house (40%), a shower (40%) and plenty of junk food (39%).

Respondents lined up to rank the ideal comfortable lazy day outfit and said it’s breathable (51%) and lightweight (50%). And the perfect cozy blanket is fluffy (66%) and big enough for two (31%).

“If you haven’t already planned it, we encourage everyone to spend some time just resting and relaxing on Aug. 10, Higgins said. “Giving yourself time to do nothing will go a long way toward health and happiness. .And cultivating the perfect cozy space to relax in. Gathering cozy essentials and designing a relaxing space is part of self-care.â€

AMERICA’S IDEAL LAZY DAY CONSISTS OF:

3 hours watching movies and TV

3 hours doing absolutely nothing

3 hours just sitting and enjoying the living space

2 hours in bed

2 hours of scrolling on someone’s phone

2 hour nap

1 hour eating

1 hour of reading

1 hour listening to an audiobook or podcast

1 hour of fear the next day

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans of the general population; survey was commissioned by Berkshire Blanket & Home Co. and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between July 15th and July 19th.

We source from a non-probability framework and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents choose to participate in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic – where respondents are online and given the opportunity to take a survey to receive a virtual incentive that is typically related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were dropped from the survey. While the survey is in the field, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve specified quotas as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small monetary value equivalent to money.

Cells are reported for analysis only if they have at least 80 respondents and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. The data are not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are set to achieve the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they fail quality control measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is faster than one-third of the average interview duration are disqualified as speeders
• Open-ended: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions and others, please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled in surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplication: The survey software has deduping based on digital fingerprints, which ensures that no one is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.