Recreation is the employment of time in a non-profitable way, in many ways also a therapeutic refreshment of one's body
or mind. Recreation is often distinguished from leisure. Where leisure is, or
ought to be, restful, recreation is refreshing and diverting. As we lead more and more sedentary life styles, the
need for recreation has grown. The rise of so called active vacations exemplify this.
Recreation, play and fun are not the preserve of humans; nearly all creatures indulge in this to some extent. Play is
essential for the development of skills, the most basic of which are motor skills in young creatures.
The weekend is typically a time for recreation, perhaps (in Judeo-Christian and Muslim cultures) because the Sabbath falls on the weekend and the Sabbath
is "the day of rest." Holidays are also a common time for recreation.
Traditionally music and dance serve as
recreation in many cultures, as do sports, hobbies, games and tourism.
Watching TV and listening to music are
common forms of recreation, or rather leisure.
Many activities may be functional and/or recreational:
In recent years, more 'exciting' forms of recreation include: skiing, snowboarding, bungee
jumping, sky diving, hang
gliding, paint balling, rock climbing, backpacking,
canyoning, caving, BASE jumping, adventure
tourism.
Some people enjoy forms of recreation that are considered immoral by others, for
example drug use, gambling, nudism and some forms of sex. Also some people believe that
there are restrictions in time for certain forms of recreation, e.g. not on Sunday,
sabbath or during Ramadan.
Since it is view as largely non-productive, even trivial, excessive recreation is not considered healthy, and may be labelled
as escapism.
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