What is the meaning of recreation leisure?

There is a substantial difference between leisure and recreation. Leisure is defined as the freedom to do what you want when you want. Recreation, on the other hand, is planned and structured. It usually involves physical activity and is often used to improve fitness or health. 

Leisure is the concept of free time that each of us has. The time when we are not working or have other obligations as it allows us to relax and recharge. Therefore, we can participate in leisure activities such as relaxing, enjoying our hobbies, or spending time with family and friends within our leisure time. Some leisure activities include reading, watching TV, going for walks, and spending time with family and friends.

On the other hand, recreational activities are a structured form of leisure time. It often involves physical activity and is used to improve our fitness or health.

We can participate in recreational activities at parks, recreation centers, or even in our own homes. Some recreational activities include playing sports, hiking, swimming, and biking.

Is Leisure Recreation?

No, recreation is a more structured form of leisure time.

While some people may use their leisure time to participate in recreational activities that improve fitness or health, this is not the primary purpose of leisure time. Instead, the primary purpose of leisure time is that it is time that is unobligated. 

If put into a chart it would look like this:

      LEISURE TIME  

   LEISURE ACTIVITIES or RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES  

Often people see leisure activities as passive activities and recreational activities as physical.

However, some activities can be a leisure activity and recreational activity. What sets the same activity apart in the two categories is the intent.

Walking, for example, is an activity that can be both a leisure activity and a recreational activity. Which type of activity category the walking falls into depends on how you choose to walk.

If you are walking for leisure, you may take a stroll with no specific destination. If you are walking for recreation, you may have a particular route and pace you follow to get from point A to point B that gets your heart rate up as your focus is on getting some exercise.

Another example is reading. Reading can be both recreation and leisure as well.

If you are reading as a recreational activity, you may have a specific book that you are trying to finish. If you are reading for leisure, you may read whatever you want, whenever you want. 

The Benefits of a Leisure Lifestyle

A leisure lifestyle has many benefits. For one, it can help reduce stress levels. We can use it to relax and unwind from our busy lives when we have free time, which can help us feel refreshed and ready to take on the world.

Additionally, a leisure lifestyle can also lead to improved mental health. Spending our leisure time enjoying our hobbies or visiting with loved ones can boost our mood and help us feel more positive.

Finally, a leisure lifestyle can also increase our physical activity levels. While recreation focuses on structured physical activity, leisure often leads to increased activity.

When we have free time, we are more likely to walk, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or even get up and move around more. All of these things can lead to improved physical health.

Take our quiz Am I Satisfied With My Leisure to see where you are in your leisure lifestyle.

The Benefits of a Recreational Lifestyle

A recreational lifestyle has many benefits. When we participate in recreational activities, we get our bodies moving and increase our heart rate, decreasing the risk of conditions like heart disease.

Additionally, a recreational lifestyle can also lead to improved mental health. It can also be a fun and enjoyable way to spend our free time. Some examples of recreation include playing sports, going for a walk, biking, swimming, hiking, and visiting an amusement park.

Just like with leisure activities, when we have time to enjoy our hobbies or spend time with loved ones, it can boost our mood and help us feel more positive.

Finally, a recreational lifestyle can also help us meet new people and make new friends. When we participate in team sports or join a recreation center, we can socialize and interact with others. We all need to belong and know other people, so interaction with others leads to a strong sense of community and belonging.

How Should One Use Leisure Time?

There is no right or wrong answer to how you should use your leisure time. It is up to you to decide what you want to do. It is your free time! 

You can use it to relax, enjoy your hobbies, participate in recreational activities or spend time with family and friends. Whatever you choose to do, a leisure activity or a recreational activity, make sure that it brings you joy.

Check out our guide Overcoming Barriers In Your Leisure Pursuits, if you have barriers to pursuing leisure activities, ranging from financial, social, or availability and distance of the leisure activity you wish to pursue.

What Sets Leisure And Recreation Apart? 

Both leisure and recreation are essential for our well-being, but they serve different purposes. Here are top five things that sets them apart:

1. Leisure is the freedom to do what you want when you want
2. Recreation requires some level of physical or mental exertion, while leisure does not
3. Leisure does not have to be structured
4. Recreational activities can be both social and solitary, while leisure activities are typically solitary
5. Leisure is more spontaneous, while recreation often has a set goal or purpose

Final Thoughts

While both leisure and recreation are essential for our well-being, they serve different purposes.

Leisure is more about relaxation and enjoyment, while recreation focuses on improving our physical health.

So, think about what you would like to do in your free time and take advantage of leisure and recreation activities that relax and fullfill you. 

Leisure vs Recreation
 

What do you do in your leisure time is a question often thrown at others during formal discussions. Human beings indulge in many activities, in daily lives such as work, sleep, bathing, resting, sleeping, eating etc, and leisure is believed to be a time of rest when an individual is not working. There is another word called recreation that refers to fun filled activities that people indulge in when they are free and actually look for some thrill and fun. With the two words having nearly the same meanings, it becomes difficult for some people to choose the right word at times. This article attempts to find out the subtle differences between leisure and recreation.

Leisure

Leisure is spare or free time that we happen to have at our disposal and the time we tend to spend in our own characteristic style. Some people doze off during spare time, not getting up from the bed so as to recharge themselves by taking complete rest. Then there are people who like to watch TV programs that they have missed because of work during their leisure time.

There is nothing to occupy our minds during leisure time, and we are free to utilize the time as per our discretion. Students, when they are away from education and schools and colleges on weekends, tend not to think about studies, but only fun filled activities or whatever that excites them. Even businessmen plan their weekends to have maximum fun and enjoyment to stay away from the stress.

Recreation

Activities that are meant to bring joy and involve fun and excitement are referred to as recreational activities. These activities are taken up during leisure time and are generally out door in nature. Taking part in sporting activities, working out at gym, hiking, climbing, sailing, fishing, hot air ballooning etc are some recreational activities that people take up to kill boredom and fill their leisure with thrill and excitement.

Thus, experiences and activities that an individual indulges during his leisure time for some enjoyment and pleasure are referred to as recreation.

What is the difference between Leisure and Recreation?

• Leisure is the spare or rest time in the daily life of a person when he is not occupied by work, studies, sleep etc

• Recreation is indulging in thrilling and exciting activities, to derive some pleasure and have fun in one’s leisure time

• While some people just take rest, sleep, watch TV, or play video games on computer in their leisure time, there are many who like to go out for recreation and indulge in activities like cycling, hiking, sailing, surfing, swimming, fishing, etc to have some fun

Recreation is doing activities that recharge and freshens up in one’s leisure time

Activity of leisure

For other uses, see Recreation (disambiguation).

Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time.[1] The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology.[2] Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun".

Etymology

The term recreation appears to have been used in English first in the late 14th century, first in the sense of "refreshment or curing of a sick person",[3] and derived turn from Latin (re: "again", creare: "to create, bring forth, beget").

Prerequisites to leisure

People spend their time on activities of daily living, work, sleep, social duties and leisure, the latter time being free from prior commitments to physiologic or social needs,[4] a prerequisite of recreation. Leisure has increased with increased longevity and, for many, with decreased hours spent for physical and economic survival, yet others argue that time pressure has increased for modern people, as they are committed to too many tasks.[5] Other factors that account for an increased role of recreation are affluence, population trends, and increased commercialization of recreational offerings.[6] While one perception is that leisure is just "spare time", time not consumed by the necessities of living, another holds that leisure is a force that allows individuals to consider and reflect on the values and realities that are missed in the activities of daily life, thus being an essential element of personal development and civilization.[1] This direction of thought has even been extended to the view that leisure is the purpose of work, and a reward in itself,[1] and "leisure life" reflects the values and character of a nation.[6] Leisure is considered a human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[7]

Play, recreation and work

Main article: Play (activity)

Recreation is difficult to separate from the general concept of play, which is usually the term for children's recreational activity. Children may playfully imitate activities that reflect the realities of adult life. It has been proposed that play or recreational activities are outlets of or expression of excess energy, channeling it into socially acceptable activities that fulfill individual as well as societal needs, without need for compulsion, and providing satisfaction and pleasure for the participant.[8] A traditional view holds that work is supported by recreation, recreation being useful to "recharge the battery" so that work performance is improved.

Work, an activity generally performed out of economic necessity and useful for society and organized within the economic framework, however can also be pleasurable and may be self-imposed thus blurring the distinction to recreation. Many activities in entertainment are work for one person and recreation for another. Over time, a recreational activity may become work, and vice versa. Thus, for a musician, playing an instrument may be at one time a profession, and at another a recreation.

Similarly, it may be difficult to separate education from recreation as in the case of recreational mathematics.[9]

Health and recreation

Recreation has many health benefits, and, accordingly, Therapeutic Recreation has been developed to take advantage of this effect. The National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) is the nationally recognized credentialing organization for the profession of Therapeutic Recreation. Professionals in the field of Therapeutic Recreation who are certified by the NCTRC are called "Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists". The job title "Recreation Therapist" is identified in the U.S. Dept of Labor's Occupation Outlook. Such therapy is applied in rehabilitation, psychiatric facilities for youth and adults, and in the care of the elderly, the disabled, or people with chronic diseases. Recreational physical activity is important to reduce obesity, and the risk of osteoporosis[10] and of cancer, most significantly in men that of colon and prostate,[11] and in women that of the breast;[12] however, not all malignancies are reduced as outdoor recreation has been linked to a higher risk of melanoma.[11] Extreme adventure recreation naturally carries its own hazards.

Forms and activities

Recreation is an essential part of human life and finds many different forms which are shaped naturally by individual interests but also by the surrounding social construction.[2] Recreational activities can be communal or solitary, active or passive, outdoors or indoors, healthy or harmful, and useful for society or detrimental. Some recreational activities – such as gambling, recreational drug use, or delinquent activities – may violate societal norms and laws. A list of typical activities could be almost endless

Hobby

Main article: Hobby

A significant section of recreational activities are designated as hobbies which are activities done for pleasure on a regular basis. A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time, not professionally and not for pay. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other amusements. Participation in hobbies encourages acquiring substantial skills and knowledge in that area. A list of hobbies changes with renewed interests and developing fashions, making it diverse and lengthy. Hobbies tend to follow trends in society, for example stamp collecting was popular during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as postal systems were the main means of communication, while video games are more popular nowadays following technological advances. The advancing production and technology of the nineteenth century provided workers with more availability in leisure time to engage in hobbies. Because of this, the efforts of people investing in hobbies has increased with time.

Bricolage

Main article: Do it yourself

Bricolage and DIY are some of the terms describing the building, modifying, or repairing things without the direct aid of experts or professionals. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals engage raw and semi-raw materials and parts to produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural environment (e.g., landscaping)".[13] DIY behavior can be triggered by various motivations previously categorized as marketplace motivations (economic benefits, lack of product availability, lack of product quality, need for customization), and identity enhancement (craftsmanship, empowerment, community seeking, uniqueness).[14] They could involve crafts that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. Typical interests enjoyed by the maker culture include engineering-oriented pursuits such as home improvement, electronics, robotics, 3-D printing, and the use of Computer Numeric Control tools, as well as more traditional activities such as metalworking, woodworking, and, mainly, its predecessor, traditional arts and crafts. The subculture stresses a cut-and-paste approach to standardized hobbyist technologies, and encourages cookbook re-use of designs published on websites and maker-oriented publications.[15][16] There is a strong focus on using and learning practical skills and applying them to reference designs.[17] There is also growing work on equity and the maker culture.

Games

Main article: Game

Any structured form of play could become a game. Games are played sometimes purely for recreation, sometimes for achievement or monetary rewards as well. They are played for recreation alone, in teams, or online; by amateurs. Professionals can play as part of their work for entertainment of the audience. The games could be board games, puzzles, computer or video games.

Outdoor recreation

Main article: Outdoor recreation

Recreation engaged in out of doors, most commonly in natural settings. The activities themselves — such as fishing, hunting, backpacking, and horseback riding — characteristically dependent on the environment practiced in. While many of these activities can be classified as sports, they do not all demand that a participant be an athlete. Competition generally is less stressed than in individual or team sports organized into opposing squads in pursuit of a trophy or championship. When the activity involves exceptional excitement, physical challenge, or risk, it is sometimes referred to as "adventure recreation" or "adventure training", rather than an extreme sport.

Other traditional examples of outdoor recreational activities include hiking, camping, mountaineering, cycling, canoeing, caving, kayaking, rafting, rock climbing, running, sailing, skiing, sky diving and surfing. As new pursuits, often hybrids of prior ones, emerge, they gain their own identities, such as coasteering, canyoning, fastpacking, and plogging.

Performing arts

Main article: Performing arts

Dance

Main article: Dance

Participatory dance whether it be a folk dance, a social dance, a group dance such as a line, circle, chain or square dance, or a partner dance such as is common in western Western ballroom dancing, is undertaken primarily for a common purpose, such as entertainment, social interaction or exercise, of participants rather than onlookers. The many forms of dance provide recreation for all age groups and cultures.

Music creation

Main article: Music

Music is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from recreation, religious or ceremonial purposes, or for entertainment. When music was only available through sheet music scores, such as during the Classical and Romantic eras in Europe, music lovers would buy the sheet music of their favourite pieces and songs so that they could perform them at home on their instruments.

Playing video games

Main article: Video game

Video games are immersive experiences that leave some of the aesthetics to be defined by the player while reserving the author's authority on the latter.[18]

Visual arts

Main article: Visual arts

Woodworking, photography, moviemaking, jewelry making, software projects such as Photoshopping and home music or video production, making bracelets, artistic projects such as drawing, painting, Cosplay (design, creation, and wearing a costume based on an already existing creative property), creating models out of card stock or paper – called papercraft fall under the category visual arts. many of these are practised for recreation.

Drawing

Main article: Drawing

Drawing goes back at least 16,000 years to Paleolithic cave representations of animals such as those at Lascaux in France and Altamira in Spain. In ancient Egypt, ink drawings on papyrus, often depicting people, were used as models for painting or sculpture. Drawings on Greek vases, initially geometric, later developed to the human form with black-figure pottery during the 7th century BC.[19]

With paper becoming common in Europe by the 15th century, drawing was adopted by masters such as Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci who sometimes treated drawing as an art in its own right rather than a preparatory stage for painting or sculpture.[20]

Literature

Writing may involve letters, journals and web blogs. In the US, about half of all adults read one or more books for pleasure each year.[21] About 5% read more than 50 books per year.[21]

Painting

Main article: Painting

Like drawing, painting has its documented origins in caves and on rock faces. The finest examples, believed by some to be 32,000 years old, are in the Chauvet and Lascaux caves in southern France. In shades of red, brown, yellow and black, the paintings on the walls and ceilings are of bison, cattle, horses and deer. Paintings of human figures can be found in the tombs of ancient Egypt. In the great temple of Ramses II, Nefertari, his queen, is depicted being led by Isis.[22] Greek and Roman art like the Hellenistic Fayum mummy portraits and Battle of Issus at Pompeii contributed to Byzantine art in the 4th century BC, which initiated a tradition in icon painting. Models of aeroplanes, boats, cars, tanks, artillery, and even figures of soldiers and superheroes are popular subjects to build, paint and display.

Photography

Main article: Photography

An amateur photographer practices photography as a hobby/passion and not for monetary profit. The quality of some amateur work may be highly specialized or eclectic in choice of subjects. Amateur photography is often pre-eminent in photographic subjects which have little prospect of commercial use or reward. Amateur photography grew during the late 19th century due to the popularization of the Hand-held camera.[23] Nowadays it has spread widely through social media and is carried out throughout different platforms and equipment, including the use of cell phone. Clear pictures can now be taken with a cell phone which is a key tool for making photography more accessible to everyone.

Organized recreation

Many recreational activities are organized, typically by public institutions, voluntary group-work agencies, private groups supported by membership fees, and commercial enterprises.[24] Examples of each of these are the National Park Service, the YMCA, the Kiwanis, and Walt Disney World. Public space such as parks and beaches are essential venues for many recreational activities and Tourism has recognized that many visitors are specifically attracted by recreational offerings.[25] In particular, beach and waterfront promenades such as the beach area of Venice Beach in California, the Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes, the Promenade des Anglais in Nice or the lungomare of Barcola with Miramare Castle in Trieste are important recreational areas for the city population on the one hand and on the other also important tourist destinations with all advantages and disadvantages for the locals.

In support of recreational activities government has taken an important role in their creation, maintenance, and organization, and whole industries have developed merchandise or services. Recreation-related business is an important factor in the economy; it has been estimated that the outdoor recreation sector alone contributes $730 billion annually to the U.S. economy and generates 6.5 million jobs.[26]

Recreation center

A recreation center is a place for recreational activities usually administered by a municipal government agency. Swimming, basketball, weightlifting, volleyball and kids' play areas are very common.[27][28]

Recreation as a career

A recreation specialist would be expected to meet the recreational needs of a community or assigned interest group. Educational institutions offer courses that lead to a degree as a Bachelor of Arts in recreation management. People with such degrees often work in parks and recreation centers in towns, on community projects and activities. Networking with instructors, budgeting, and evaluation of continuing programs are common job duties.

In the United States, most states have a professional organization for continuing education and certification in recreation management. The National Recreation and Park Association administers a certification program called the CPRP (Certified Park and Recreation Professional)[29] that is considered a national standard for professional recreation specialist practices.

e-commerce

Since the beginning of the 2000s, there are more and more online booking / ticketing platforms for recreational activities that emerged. Many of them leveraged the ever-growing prevalence of internet, mobile devices and e-payments to build comprehensive online booking solutions. The first successful batch includes tourist recreation activities platform like TripAdvisor that went public. The emergence of these platforms infers the rising needs for recreation and entertainment from the growing urban citizens worldwide.

See also

• Adventure recreation
• Amusement
• Entertainment
• Fun
• Hobby
• Lack of physical education
• National Recreation Area
• Play
• R&R (military)
• Recreation area
• Recreation room
• Tourist attraction
• Work-life balance

References

1. ^ a b c Thomas S. Yukic. Fundamentals of Recreation, 2nd edition. Harpers & Row, 1970, Library of Congress 70-88646. p. 1f.
2. ^ a b Bruce C. Daniels (1995). Puritans at Play. Leisure and Recreation in Colonial New England. St. Martin's Press, New York. p. xi. ISBN 978-0-312-12500-4.
3. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary".
4. ^ Yurkic TS (1970) page 2
5. ^ Claudia Wallis (1983-06-06), "Stress: Can We Cope?", Time, archived from the original on January 4, 2007, retrieved October 31, 2010
6. ^ a b McLean DD, Hurd AR, Rogers NB (2005). Kraus' Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society, 7th Edition. Jones and Bartlett. p. 1ff. ISBN 978-0-7637-0756-9.
7. ^ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 24 (Text of Resolution), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris)
8. ^ Yukic TS, 1970, page 3f
9. ^ Kulkarni, D. Enjoying Math: Learning Problem Solving With KenKen Puzzles Archived 2013-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, A textbook for teaching with KenKen Puzzles.
10. ^ Smith, E. L.; Raab, D. M. (1986). "Osteoporosis and physical activity". Acta Medica Scandinavica. Supplementum. 711: 149–156. doi:10.1111/j.0954-6820.1986.tb08944.x. PMID 3535406.
11. ^ a b Parent, M.; Rousseau, M.; El-Zein, M.; Latreille, B.; Désy, M.; Siemiatycki, J. (2010). "Occupational and recreational physical activity during adult life and the risk of cancer among men". Cancer Epidemiology. 35 (2): 151–159. doi:10.1016/j.canep.2010.09.004. PMID 21030330.
12. ^ Breslow, R. A.; Ballard-Barbash, R.; Munoz, K.; Graubard, B. I. (2001). "Long-term recreational physical activity and breast cancer in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I epidemiologic follow-up study". Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 10 (7): 805–808. PMID 11440967.
13. ^ Wolf & McQuitty (2011). Understanding the Do-It-Yourself Consumer: DIY Motivation and Outcomes. Academy of Marketing Science Review
14. ^ Wolf & McQuitty (2011)
15. ^ Thomas MacMillan (April 30, 2012). "On State Street, "Maker" Movement Arrives". New Haven Independent.
16. ^ "Makers UPV: making locally, winning globally | Startup Europe". startupeuropeclub.eu. Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
17. ^ Martinez, Sylvia (2013). Invent To Learn. Torrance, CA: Constructing Modern Knowledge. pp. 32–35. ISBN 978-0-9891511-0-8.
18. ^ "Video games as performance art".
19. ^ History of Drawing. From Dibujos para Pintar. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
20. ^ "Drawing". History.com. 2006. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
21. ^ a b Pinsker, Joe (2019-09-19). "Why Some People Become Lifelong Readers". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
22. ^ History of Painting. From History World. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
23. ^ Peterson, C.A. (2011). "Home Portraiture". History of Photography. 35 (4): 374–87. doi:10.1080/03087298.2011.606727. S2CID 216590139.
24. ^ Yucik TS, 1970, page 62f
25. ^ Queensland Government. "What is Recreation?". Archived from the original on April 1, 2009. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
26. ^ Rechner (March 11, 2010). "Letter to the Editor: Outdoor recreation stimulates the economy". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
27. ^ Recreation Centers, Clearwater, FL
28. ^ Recreation Centers, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
29. ^ "Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) Certification". National Recreation and Park Association. Retrieved 6 November 2010.

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