NEW research shows that keeping busy with a variety of activities can elicit both positive and negative emotions, and some of the relationship could depend on your age. A new study published in the Journal of Gerontology finds that engaging in diverse daily activities is associated with a diverse set of emotions.

“Experiencing a broad spectrum of emotions is adaptive and beneficial to health because it means having a more balanced and nuanced appraisal of daily life,” said Soomi Lee, assistant professor of aging studies in the University of South Florida College of Behavioral and Community Sciences. “For example, even for negative emotions, feeling intense anger across situations may mean that the individual has a narrow appraisal of situations, whereas feeling a mix of anger, sadness and shame may indicate a broader and more nuanced appraisal.”

Lee reviewed data collected on nearly 3,000 middle-aged participants enrolled in the Midlife in the United States Study who are considered relatively healthy and well-educated. She found individuals who regularly participated in a broad range of daily activities experienced diverse emotional experiences — both positive and negative — with those between ages 33-44 experiencing more diverse positive emotions compared to those between ages 68-84. The study looked at the amount of time individuals spent participating in seven activities: paid work, spending time with children, chores, leisure, physical activities, formal volunteering and helping someone outside of their household, such as a neighbor. Participants recorded their activities for eight consecutive days, as well as their positive and negative emotions, which were used to calculate emodiversity scores. (SD-Agencies)