As the clocks spring forward this Sunday 30th March nearly a quarter of us will be dedicating this extra hour of evening daylight to re-discover hobbies[1] rather than using this time to sleep, socialise or spend extra time in the office, according to a survey by Yahoo! (www.yahoo.co.uk).
Originally in the early 1900 s the extra hour of daylight was apparently designed to make better use of daylight hours[2], but modern society could use the time to re-discover forgotten childhood passions, such as football and outdoor activities and new found interests such as photography and wine tasting.
A huge 95% of the British public agree that we would feel less stressed, more energised and healthier on the whole if we explored new activities and nearly a third of us believe that re-discovering a hobby will help us achieve this.
Celebrity Life Coach Gladeana McMahon comments[4]: 'The principles of positive psychology show that happier people are healthier people. Rediscovering a passion outside of our everyday lives could act as a very tangible stress buster and an extra hour of daylight in the evening gives us a perfect opportunity to do so. Walking out the office when it s light is a boost in itself, using this positive energy to motivate ourselves into pursuing wider activities outside of work can certainly benefit our health both mentally and physically.
Passions and hobbies vary across a wide range of interests, from sport to painting to cooking. In sport a third of us would rather concentrate on being better at running, while nearly a quarter of us would rather be better at doing something more creative such as photography, art or painting[3]. In particular over 55 s would like to use their time more creatively with nearly a quarter wanting to dedicate more time to the arts, humanities and photography and a third of 35-55 year olds are keen to take up more sports[1].
How we chose to use our spare time appears to differ quite significantly from one profession to the next. While 50% of teachers are most likely to want to be a better gardener, a quarter of lawyers would like to be better at being more creative and 50% of the medical profession would like to have better culinary skills,[3].
Football comes surprisingly low on the list with only 13% of those surveyed claiming they would like to be better at playing a game of footie. Tennis is the top sports category with over a third of us wanting to hit the courts and play a better game.
Yahoo! has teamed up with a number of experts and hobbyists, including life coach Gladeana McMahon[4] and ex Man United footballer David May[5] as part of a campaign to help people rediscover their passions and interest via a series of five step plans. Whether it s sport, photography or food and drink, Yahoo! is an indispensable starting point to help rediscover and research forgotten hobbies. Get started and inspired by visiting www.yahoo.co.uk/passions.
What will you be doing with your extra hour of daylight this summer?
[2] 5 thoughts you might not know about the clocks going forward, courtesy of Yahoo! Answers www.yahoo.co.uk/answers
1) A useful phrase to remember whether the clocks go forward or back is 'spring forward and fall back
2) When the clocks go forward on March 30th this period is known as British Summer Time (BST). The rest of the year we are on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
3) During the Second World War they tried double summer time
4) When the clocks go forward people are least likely to change the clock in their car and kitchen
5) Some areas of the world such as Hawaii and Queensland don't have daylight saving time
Yahoo! - www.yahoo.co.uk/passions
Notes to Editors
[1] All statistics have been commissioned and calculated by Yahoo! based on a survey conducted by YouGov using a poll of 2000 respondents from February 29 2008. Yahoo! must be quoted when using these stats.
[2] Yahoo! Answers - yahoo.co.uk/answers
[3] Statistics from Lightspeed Research using a poll of 1010 respondents, commissioned by Yahoo! in 2007. Yahoo! must be quoted when using these stats.
[4] Gladeana McMahon - Psychologist, councillor, life coach, writer and motivational speaker, was listed one of the UK s "Top Ten Coaches".
[5] David May- started his career with Blackburn Rovers as a trainee before graduating to the first team. In July 1994, he moved to Manchester United. David finally retired to work in the wine distribution industry, importing South African wines.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com or the company s blog, Yodel Anecdotal.
About Flickr
Flickr is one of the world's leading online photo sharing communities where people explore, find, manage and share pictures of life's daily moments with friends, family and the world. With more than 40 million worldwide visitors each month (ComScore Jan 2008) and more than 2 billion photos stored, Flickr serves as the 'eyes of the world' and has revolutionized the sharing and discovery of what people see and experience through photos. Flickr was developed by Ludicorp in February 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in March 2005. To share and explore the world's photos, visit www.flickr.com.
About Yahoo! Answers
Yahoo! Answers is an online social search community. It can be described as Knowledge Search in that it adds human knowledge and experience to search results. Everyone has life experience and knowledge about something, and Yahoo! Answers provides a platform for users to share their experience and insight. With over 28 million unique users in Europe and approx 6.7 million unique users in the UK (ComScore Jan 2008), Yahoo! Answers is a thriving, global knowledge-sharing community.
About Yahoo! Eurosport
Yahoo! and Eurosport have teamed up to produce co-branded sites in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK & Ireland to create one of Europe s ultimate online sports news and community destinations. The co-branded site unites Eurosport s unrivalled breadth and depth of editorial content with Yahoo! s world-leading social media platform, to create a winning combination for sport fans.
Users can follow a 24/7 live scoreboard, use the embedded Eurosport player to watch interviews, highlights, and selected live action, keep up to date with the very latest sports news and react and offer opinions. Moreover, they can do this in an environment that integrates Eurosport's high-quality content with Yahoo!'s ability to connect people to their passions through online communities http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com giving the consumer the opportunity to take part rather than just consume.
Originally in the early 1900 s the extra hour of daylight was apparently designed to make better use of daylight hours[2], but modern society could use the time to re-discover forgotten childhood passions, such as football and outdoor activities and new found interests such as photography and wine tasting.
A huge 95% of the British public agree that we would feel less stressed, more energised and healthier on the whole if we explored new activities and nearly a third of us believe that re-discovering a hobby will help us achieve this.
Celebrity Life Coach Gladeana McMahon comments[4]: 'The principles of positive psychology show that happier people are healthier people. Rediscovering a passion outside of our everyday lives could act as a very tangible stress buster and an extra hour of daylight in the evening gives us a perfect opportunity to do so. Walking out the office when it s light is a boost in itself, using this positive energy to motivate ourselves into pursuing wider activities outside of work can certainly benefit our health both mentally and physically.
Passions and hobbies vary across a wide range of interests, from sport to painting to cooking. In sport a third of us would rather concentrate on being better at running, while nearly a quarter of us would rather be better at doing something more creative such as photography, art or painting[3]. In particular over 55 s would like to use their time more creatively with nearly a quarter wanting to dedicate more time to the arts, humanities and photography and a third of 35-55 year olds are keen to take up more sports[1].
How we chose to use our spare time appears to differ quite significantly from one profession to the next. While 50% of teachers are most likely to want to be a better gardener, a quarter of lawyers would like to be better at being more creative and 50% of the medical profession would like to have better culinary skills,[3].
Football comes surprisingly low on the list with only 13% of those surveyed claiming they would like to be better at playing a game of footie. Tennis is the top sports category with over a third of us wanting to hit the courts and play a better game.
Yahoo! has teamed up with a number of experts and hobbyists, including life coach Gladeana McMahon[4] and ex Man United footballer David May[5] as part of a campaign to help people rediscover their passions and interest via a series of five step plans. Whether it s sport, photography or food and drink, Yahoo! is an indispensable starting point to help rediscover and research forgotten hobbies. Get started and inspired by visiting www.yahoo.co.uk/passions.
What will you be doing with your extra hour of daylight this summer?
[2] 5 thoughts you might not know about the clocks going forward, courtesy of Yahoo! Answers www.yahoo.co.uk/answers
1) A useful phrase to remember whether the clocks go forward or back is 'spring forward and fall back
2) When the clocks go forward on March 30th this period is known as British Summer Time (BST). The rest of the year we are on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
3) During the Second World War they tried double summer time
4) When the clocks go forward people are least likely to change the clock in their car and kitchen
5) Some areas of the world such as Hawaii and Queensland don't have daylight saving time
Yahoo! - www.yahoo.co.uk/passions
Notes to Editors
[1] All statistics have been commissioned and calculated by Yahoo! based on a survey conducted by YouGov using a poll of 2000 respondents from February 29 2008. Yahoo! must be quoted when using these stats.
[2] Yahoo! Answers - yahoo.co.uk/answers
[3] Statistics from Lightspeed Research using a poll of 1010 respondents, commissioned by Yahoo! in 2007. Yahoo! must be quoted when using these stats.
[4] Gladeana McMahon - Psychologist, councillor, life coach, writer and motivational speaker, was listed one of the UK s "Top Ten Coaches".
[5] David May- started his career with Blackburn Rovers as a trainee before graduating to the first team. In July 1994, he moved to Manchester United. David finally retired to work in the wine distribution industry, importing South African wines.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com or the company s blog, Yodel Anecdotal.
About Flickr
Flickr is one of the world's leading online photo sharing communities where people explore, find, manage and share pictures of life's daily moments with friends, family and the world. With more than 40 million worldwide visitors each month (ComScore Jan 2008) and more than 2 billion photos stored, Flickr serves as the 'eyes of the world' and has revolutionized the sharing and discovery of what people see and experience through photos. Flickr was developed by Ludicorp in February 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in March 2005. To share and explore the world's photos, visit www.flickr.com.
About Yahoo! Answers
Yahoo! Answers is an online social search community. It can be described as Knowledge Search in that it adds human knowledge and experience to search results. Everyone has life experience and knowledge about something, and Yahoo! Answers provides a platform for users to share their experience and insight. With over 28 million unique users in Europe and approx 6.7 million unique users in the UK (ComScore Jan 2008), Yahoo! Answers is a thriving, global knowledge-sharing community.
About Yahoo! Eurosport
Yahoo! and Eurosport have teamed up to produce co-branded sites in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK & Ireland to create one of Europe s ultimate online sports news and community destinations. The co-branded site unites Eurosport s unrivalled breadth and depth of editorial content with Yahoo! s world-leading social media platform, to create a winning combination for sport fans.
Users can follow a 24/7 live scoreboard, use the embedded Eurosport player to watch interviews, highlights, and selected live action, keep up to date with the very latest sports news and react and offer opinions. Moreover, they can do this in an environment that integrates Eurosport's high-quality content with Yahoo!'s ability to connect people to their passions through online communities http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com giving the consumer the opportunity to take part rather than just consume.
