3 Health Benefits of Traveling
By Amanda

3 Health Benefits of Traveling

Traveling is my life. It’s all I do; it’s my true purpose! I love to feel the sun on my face; I love to feel like the entire world is sort of spinning just for me, you know? That euphoria is essential to my very being!

And you certainly know what it feels like to go on vacation, yeah? You know what it feels like to rip your tie from your neck, grab your swimsuit, and head to the airport. You feel your brain begin to clear up; you feel a sense of hope for the coming week’s travels!

Recent research actually backs up this claim. There are immense health benefits of travel. And these traveling benefits can actually occur if you do regular day-trips, if you just give yourself little “spurts” of travel! Therefore, pick the next day you’re getting out of town. Mark a big red X on the calendar and tell yourself THIS is the day you’re heading out. Your health—both mental and physical—is counting on you!

Health Benefits of Travel #1: Traveling Reduces Stress—the Number 1 Killer.

Okay, okay. This sounds a little dramatic, but bear with me. Stress causes the hormone, cortisol, to come rolling through your bloodstream and cause something called inflammation in all of your cells. If stress becomes chronic, this inflammation increases your risks of serious diseases—like heart disease and some cancers.

However, if you halt this pumping cortisol by going traveling, you are giving your cells relief and time to repair themselves. You can give your brain a fresh start! In fact, A Global Commission on Aging recently released a study showing that after only one day of travel, 89% of all people had serious decreases in their stress levels. Can’t argue with numbers!

Furthermore, as a result of this vacation, you’ll be able to think more clearly; you’ll be able to understand if what you’re doing back home is really fulfilling for you.

 

Which brings me to my next point–

 

Health Benefits of Travel #2: Perspective is Important for Your Mental Health.

As you stand on your beach, in your museum, wherever you go on vacation so far away from home, you have the unique pleasure of looking back on your life at home and understanding if it’s what you TRULY want. You can see your life in every manner: with all of its faults and all of its upsides.

As you travel, you learn to open your mind to the possibility of possibilities. You learn to understand that there are other things in the world. And this, beyond anything else, can allow you to give all stressful elements in your home life a little less power over you. This is so important! You can be free from those things anytime you choose. You can simply step out into the world and understand yourself and your life from a different perspective!

 

Health Benefits of Travel #3: Traveling Boosts Your Ability to Be Creative and Live With Seamless Innovation!

If you’re stuck in a rut, you might want to head out on the open road. When you open yourself up to the benefits and the unique characteristics of travel—all the people you get to meet, all the crazy places you get to go—a part of your mind starts going wild. Personally, when I’m out traveling, I have the most dynamic, most interesting conversations with people. I think that’s because our brains are going wild, picking up possibilities and interesting things everywhere!

This creativity further creates innovation in you, which can help you ease back into your home life when you must stop the adventure. Sigh, right!

Decrease your stress levels, and decrease your risk of serious disease. Broaden your creative mind, and get some perspective on your life! After all, you have to live this one the best you possibly can. You might as well go out into the world and soak up every ounce of excitement and energy travel has to give you.

As always, Safe Travels!!!

xoxo

The Chica Travelista

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  • February 3, 2015