Start packing! Whether it’s a blow-it-out-of-the-water vacation of a lifetime or a weekend getaway, travel is good for our health.
Long trip. Short trip. It doesn’t matter. But the farther you travel from home, the better.
Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s easy enough to check out research by Good RX Health, WebMD, the Framingham Heart Study or Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and confer with physicians, mental health and wellness professionals.
Many worldwide are talking about travel’s wide range of benefits for mental and physical health.
For example, in the famous and widely cited Framingham Heart Study, researchers monitored female participants (45 to 64 years old) free of coronary disease for 20 years and found that women who took the least amount of vacation time (about one vacation every six years) were about two and a half times more likely to have a heart attack than women who vacationed once a year.
In addition to lowering your risk of heart disease, research shows travel can also increase brain function, boost your immune system, promote physical activity, lower stress and anxiety and increase happiness and creativity.
“When it comes down to it and you’re considering whether or not to take that next trip, do it, go see the world,” said Dempsey Rupe, a licensed clinical social worker/therapist at Bayou Wellness, owner of Fisher’s PlayHouse, and adjunct professor at the University of West Florida.
“As a licensed clinical social worker, one of the questions I typically ask in my intakes with clients is ‘What is something you do as a family that you enjoy doing together?’ And almost every response is about some kind of trip. So much so, that when they think about their happy memories of being a family unit it comes back to a trip that they’ve taken.”
In part, Rupe’s scientific take is this: Traveling releases dopamine and serotonin, two chemicals in our bodies that relieve stress and anxiety, which increases happiness.
“Our brain creates dopamine based off of experiences that we have, and serotonin is made in our gut,” Rupe explained. “So, when we tie these two together, they show up more when we travel.
“Because we fill our trips with things that bring us joy or things that we look forward to doing, this releases dopamine, and then when we go out to eat at restaurants that we spent weeks looking up, the serotonin is created after dining.”
And the chain reaction continues, Rupe explained. Due to traveling and the serotonin and dopamine we created while traveling, we mend our mind and body, feeling peaceful and relaxed.
“We return home and go back to work rejuvenated with less stress and anxiety in our lives,” added Rupe, who said she benefited from her recent honeymoon on the island of Oahu and other parts of Hawaii.
Because we all live different types of lives, we may not be able to travel as much as others, but no worries. Simply anticipating our next vacation can release the happy chemicals in our bodies, Rupe said.
“First and foremost are the mental health benefits of taking a break from the daily grind that can offer stress relief from day-to-day pressures,” agreed Beth Clark, a prime-time wellness coach and owner of Emerald Coast Wellness.
“New environments and experiences can be refreshing and rejuvenating,” she said. “Encountering different cultures and navigating new places help build mental resilience and problem-solving skills. Experiencing new cultures and environments can also stimulate creativity and innovation by exposing your brain to different stimuli.”
Referring to cognitive health benefits, Clark said travel is an excellent way to learn about history, geography and other cultures firsthand.
“This can be more engaging and memorable than classroom learning,” she explained. “New experiences stimulate the brain and can improve memory and cognitive function.”
Also, exposure to different cultures and ways of life can enhance empathy and cultural awareness, and navigating through different languages and customs can improve communication and social skills, Clark added.
Whether you travel with friends or family, regular travel can strengthen relationships, broaden your social circle and improve overall life satisfaction and quality of life by providing enriching and memorable experiences, she said.
“My husband and I recently returned from a last-minute cruise,” Clark shared. “We made sure to enjoy the sea air with walks around the decks after each meal aboard, and we enjoyed the cultural enrichment of the shore-side excursions. We got in plenty of walking and mild exercise while learning history and enjoying other cultural experiences.”
Clark said after three weeks away, she and her husband “both came home relaxed, rejuvenated, enlightened and ready to go again this fall.”
