Leisure and recreation are two words that are close in meaning.  Leisure can be defined as someone's freedom from work or obligations. You can do many things within your free time.  Recreation is an activity that is voluntarily participated in and is enjoyed by the person involved.  Recreational activities could include anything from playing in the snow to riding a bull.  Recreation can be done during your leisure hours.  Recreation, in a sense, is an escape from the outside world and can help relieve stress.  Leisure can also help relieve stress, but this does not necessarily mean that you are doing recreation within this time frame.

When someone is not working, it does not automatically mean that you are in leisure.  To be in leisure, you aren't concerned about anything, you are free from concerns.  When someone finishes working and they must make dinner for their family, they are not in leisure.  Once everything is taken care of, that is when a person is finally considered to be in a state of leisure.  Prisoners are constantly in leisure.  They have no obligations, so their time can be free of constraints and they are in a constant state of leisure.  Also, if someone enjoys their job, it is not leisure; they have obligations.  Once they finish their obligations, no matter enjoyable, they can consider their time to be leisured.