ABSTRACT

Time is an inherent aspect of any human activity, in work as well as leisure. All activities draw upon the same energetic resources. The degree to which they do so depends on the demands and the amount of effort they require. The duration and frequency of the activities also plays a role: the more time people spend on executing given work tasks, the greater will be the depletion of their resources and the higher their experience of fatigue. The same holds for non-work related activities, such as traveling and performing household duties. More time spent on such activities will take energy and raise fatigue. Some activities, however, particularly relaxed leisure and sound sleep, are known to have the opposite effect. The time people spend on these activities translates into replenishment of resources. The processes involved in energy expenditure and recovery are complex and only partially understood. We know as yet little about how people seek and maintain a balance between these opposite processes. The aim of this chapter is to make a contribution to the clarification of this issue by studying how people distribute their effort and recovery over time, in particular over the days of the working week. It looks into the cycle of work and rest, and the influence of leisure activities and quality of sleep.