Holiday Ayo - Laziness is often considered a bad trait to avoid. However, did you know that research shows that people who tend to be lazy actually have higher IQs?

As reported by Your Tango, researchers from Florida Gulf Coast University used a written test to find the right research group to test this theory.

This 2016 study, published in the Journal of Health Psychology, divided participants into two groups: those who actively sought out stimulating situations and those who preferred doing anything but thinking.

The results showed that the group who enjoyed activities like solving puzzles showed higher levels of Need for Cognition (NFC) compared to those who preferred less mentally stimulating activities.

Participants were given activity monitors that tracked their movements every 30 seconds. By collecting 20,000 points of data per person, the researchers analyzed and compared activity levels between the two groups.

The researchers found significant differences between individuals with low and high NFC.

During the weekdays, those with low NFC were more active than those with high NFC. However, on weekends, data showed that both groups were more likely to be lazy.

So, are lazy people actually smart, and smart people more likely to be lazy?

After seven days of observation, the results found that the 'thinkers' group engaged in significantly less activity during the weekdays than those who were less inclined to think deeply.

The researchers also found that on weekends, the activity levels of lazy and smart people were similar.

It's likely that smart people have the opportunity to move more, and weekends are designed for relaxation. Therefore, those who are typically very active reduce their physical activity.

The researchers theorize that smarter people tend to be lazier because they have longer attention spans.

"Findings from a study in the United States support the idea that people with high IQs are less bored and therefore spend more time thinking, whereas those who are less inclined to think tend to get bored quickly and need to fill their time with physical activity," the study states.

Intelligent people don't always need to constantly move to find entertainment or new stimuli.

In other words, intelligent people can spend hours at home just reading, napping, or swimming.

Meanwhile, less intelligent people tend to want to occupy their time with activities to keep their brains from overthinking.