Lazy People Have High Intelligence, Study Suggests

A new study has proven the theory that smart people spend more time bumming around than the active ones. Independent.co.uk recently reported the result of a US-based study fully supporting the notion that people with high intelligent quotient (IQ) get bored easily, this leads them to spend more time thinking. Active people on the other hand may be more physical because they need to activate their minds with physical activities to either forget about something they're thinking about or because they are bored.

Researchers from the Florida Gulf Coast University used a psychological test to determine students showing a strong desire to think a lot, and those who were the type to avoid things that are mentally exhausting. The "need for cognition" questionnaire asked the study volunteers to rate how strongly they agree with statements such as "I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems", and "I only think as hard as I have to".

According to The Telegraph, the participants in the study were fitted with fitness trackers to monitor how much they exercised over the course of seven days. It was revealed that people who think a lot did not engage in as much exercise between Monday and Friday as those who avoided high-level thinking. However, researchers also reported that they did not see any difference during the weekend and they can't explain why this is the case. As the size of the sample lowers and the time of the study come to an end, researchers feel there need to be tests to conclusively prove the connection.

"Ultimately, an important factor that may help more thoughtful individuals combat their lower average activity levels is awareness," the study's authors wrote. "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," Medical Daily reported.