When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The real national pastime isn't football. If you go by how Americans actually spend their leisure time, it's something even slower: watching TV. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey, Americans spend nearly three hours a day watching television, making it the country's most popular leisure activity. Among retirees, that number rises to more than four hours a day.