A good break from your daily routine, a few days to forget everything to do with work pressures and deadlines – have you ever wished for it? Even if you haven’t, pack your bags and start your journey. Because travel brings you more than mere pleasure. It offers you a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, most Americans are overworked and vacation deprived. A study called Project: Time Off has revealed that 40% of Americans aren’t using all their earned time off. In fact, we fail to use 429 million vacation days every year. Well, it’s time to change all that. If you don’t buy the pleasure part of it, there are studies to prove that it helps you live longer. Yes, we have science to back up our claims.
1. Enhances Your Brain And Heart
Travel can prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, especially for retirees. Skeptical? This was revealed through a poll conducted by the Global Commission on Aging, the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, and the U.S. Travel Association. And those of you who have traveled often, be happy because your health status is much better compared to others. As per the findings, men who did not take an annual vacation were shown to have a 20 percent higher risk of death and about a 30 percent greater risk of death from heart disease. Additionally, women who vacationed every six years or less had a significantly higher risk of developing a heart attack or coronary death when compared with women who vacationed at least twice a year.
2. Keeps You Happy
A day away from your hectic schedule naturally makes you feel content. But, if you insist on proof, here you go. The poll showed that 86 percent of those who travel are satisfied with their outlook on life. Thus, it boosts the mood of a person. Did you know even the anticipation of an upcoming trip will have a positive impact on your well-being? The University of Surrey’s study says that planning a trip increases your happiness. Pretty cool, right?
3. Boosts Your Creativity
Creative benefits of travel are amazing. You need exciting, new experiences to hone your creative skills. Various pieces of research have proved that exposure to new sounds, languages, and sights ignite different creative synapses in the brain. A study by Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School points out that foreign professional experiences can be a critical catalyst for creativity and innovation.1 Try to recollect a few famous writers. Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Aldous Huxley – they all drew inspiration for their masterpiece from international travel. Looking for a creative boost? Travel!
4. Makes You Self-Sufficient
You meet new people, learn several languages, and understand different cultures – these are the things you don’t get when you restrict yourself to your house or office. It has the potential to strengthen a person’s sense of self. Travel helps you enhance your social skills, give a better understanding of humankind, and become more open-minded. It strengthens your sense of connection with people from different backgrounds. All these experiences and challenges that come with it equip you to face the world with a newfound confidence.
So, what are you waiting for? Get on a plane. We know that after the trip you come back to the same home and office. But then, something has changed in you after the travel. That new spark makes all the difference, making you smarter in the process.
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