Watching those endless reruns of “Friends” and “CSI” may be compromising your happiness.

So says a team of five university professors who devised a scientific method to quantify people’s emotions during certain activities. What they found: Americans are not making the best use of their leisure hours.

While our standard of living has increased over the 40 years studied — with less time spent on mundane household chores and more minutes of “neutral downtime,” such as watching TV — our happiness levels haven’t.

Too much TV is to blame, according to David Schkade, a professor of management at UC San Diego.

The problem is that television viewing is often done in isolation. But more active, stimulating recreation and group activities are what help us feel connected and content, Schkade said.

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