What are some things that pop up in your mind when you hear the word ‘travel’? It is vacation, sand and beach, Instagram-worthy sunsets, and a fun-filled experience for many people. Sure, traveling sounds exhilarating, but it is much more than simply taking a vacation.
Traveling has amazing benefits for your mental and physical health. Not to mention, many travelers also believe that it brings benefits to their inner lives.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health refers to a state of well-being where an individual realizes their fullest abilities, becomes able to cope with stress, works productively, and contributes to their community. This suggests that mental health is integral to a happy, fulfilling life.
If you want to maintain healthy well-being, travel is a great way. Here are five reasons why traveling is good for your overall well-being: mind, body, and soul.
1. Travel Gives You a New Perspective
Traveling is great for a healthier mindset as it can give you a new perspective each time. If you prioritize travel, you may know how traveling can show you a new way of perceiving yourself, life, and the world around you.
It also affects your decisions, especially how you choose to spend your precious time on earth. Meeting new people and experiencing new cultures and adventures can help redefine your meanings of various essential things, and to develop a growth mindset.
As you explore during your traveling experience, you also learn how similar humans are and how amazing the world is. You also learn many different ways to live and value experiences more than possessions.
2. Alleviates Stress for a Prolonged Period
One of the most important benefits of traveling is that it reduces stress. Travel means moving out of your daily routine and taking up new activities and experiences. Furthermore, your surroundings also change for the better. This change possesses the ability to reset both your mind and your body.
Of course, enjoying your time at a beautiful location will certainly reduce stress and boost your mood. But a 2018 study reveals an extension of this benefit. It suggests that a 4-day long vacation can decrease stress for at least five days after the trip.
3. Travel Increases Your Sense of Happiness
Studies and research reveal that people experience the most happiness days before a trip. The excitement when you have a trip coming up contributes to a greater sense of happiness.
You don’t just feel great about your current life and health, but it also improves the general quality of your life. One study by Cornell University suggests that people experience greater anticipation before a trip than before buying something.
After all, you will feel happier than usual when you don’t need to work an 8-hour shift and deal with daily life stressors. Besides offering a break from the daily grind, traveling also rewires your brain and boosts happiness.
4. Enhances Your Creativity
Okay, so maybe I’m a little bit biased about travel and living in other places…
Many experts like social psychologist Adam Galinsky from the Colombia Business School believe that visiting a foreign place can give you a quick, creative boost. According to the professor, immersing oneself in the local environment of a new location can increase cognitive flexibility.
He also suggests that travel is a great way of enhancing the integration and depth of thoughts. Additionally, Galinsky’s research published by the American Psychological Association revealed that people living in a country other than the one they’re from show a greater creative tendency compared to those who don’t.
5. Travel Improves Your Heart Health
A 2019 journal by Psychology and Health conducted survey-based research involving 63 employees. These workers eligible for paid vacation were tracked for the days they took off over 12 months.
According to the findings, employees taking more days off showed fewer incidences and less intense symptoms of metabolic syndrome. This suggests that travel can also affect your physical health, especially with regards metabolic syndrome, a contributor to diabetes.
Scientific studies also suggest that people, particularly men, who don’t take a vacation trip for several years are at a 30% higher risk of a heart attack. On the other hand, men who take regular vacations are 21% less likely to die due to a heart attack. This is especially the result of physical activities like walking involved in vacation trips.
Bottom Line
Of course, people have a lot of fun on vacations when they spend an exciting, fun-filled time with family or friends in a new location. But, traveling also offers many perks for your physical and mental health.
The change of context can give you a new perception, reduce stress, boost happiness, enhance creativity and even improve your heart health.
p.s. – Want to design a life that allows for more travel? Talk to someone who has lived location-independent for over 2 decades. Book some time with me at no charge and we’ll see if we’re a fit for working together.
Paul Strobl, MBA, CPC
Owner of Confide Coaching, LLC
Paul is a Master Life Coach for GenX and GenY executives and business owners. Originally from Houston, Texas, he has been location independent for most of his adult life. He currently resides in the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria near the Greek border with his brilliant wife, 13-year-old stepson (officially adopted in 2021!) and a Posavac Hound rescue.
