According to new study, lazy people spend more time engaged in thought than active people, making them more intelligent.
Active people are more physical and need external activities to either escape their thoughts or because they get bored quickly, said researchers from Florida Gulf Coast University in the US.
Lazy people on the other hand have higher IQ get bored less easily, leading them to spend more time engaged in thought, they said.
The team led by Todd McElroy, used a classic psychology test, which dates back three decades, on a bunch of students.
The ‘need for cognition’ questionnaire asked to students to determine which of them expressed a strong desire to think a lot and which of them were more keen to avoid things which were mentally taxing.
A group of 30 thinkers and 30 non-thinkers were selected from the test. For the next week, both the groups were made to wear a fitness trackers to monitor their movements and activity levels.
The results showed that the thinkers were far less active during the week than non-thinkers. However, there was no difference between the two groups in the weekends – the researchers haven’t been able to figure out why.
“Ultimately, an important factor that may help more thoughtful individuals combat their lower average activity levels is awareness,” said McElroy.
“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,” he said.
