There are many ways that travel alters you. It not only has an impact on your bodily and mental well-being, but it also stirs up pleasant feelings. We become enthusiastic when we make travel plans, pack our bags, or board a plane. We leave behind our daily lives at home and venture into an unfamiliar environment. Meeting new people, travelling, and enjoying nature’s beauty rapidly relieve our tension from job and home.
The obvious response is hence YES. A happy life’s secret element is travel!
Over and over again, scientific investigation has demonstrated this. For instance, it was discovered that the happiest people travel most during the Happiness 360 Conference in 2016. A different Cornell University study revealed that people even feel happier after simply planning their vacation. This demonstrates that travelling has advantages that start to materialise even before the journey itself.
5 benefits of travel for happiness
1. Vacations produce enduring memories
According to Japji Travel in 2023, taking a vacation brings about happier feelings than buying tangible possessions. If we buy a tangible item, our enjoyment would gradually decrease as we get accustomed to it. On the other hand, if we spend money on trip experiences, it will make us happy and leave us with memories that will last a lifetime.
This implies that purchasing a luxury car, phone, or dress will not make you as happy as engaging in adventures. You will grow more restless after a few weeks or months as you get used to your brand-new automobile or phone. Your phone may eventually become so slow and “old” that you start to have dreams about buying a new one.
Nothing you can purchase in a mall can compare to the experience of travelling to a new place. You can indulge in novel experiences while travelling overseas, such as meeting new people, discovering new cultures, or exploring unfamiliar landscapes. These novel encounters will leave enduring memories. Memories that we will discuss with others and reflect on in the future. It is the memory of a happy encounter that makes you feel good right away. And for this reason, you should explore the globe!
2. Vacations strengthen already-existing bonds
The most important factor affecting someone’s life and happiness is their social network. These connections could be with your spouse, your family, your friends, or even the larger community in which you live. Our emotions and relationships are closely related. When we have close, healthy relationships, we experience happiness, calm, and fulfilment, but when those interactions are unhealthy or nonexistent, we experience anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
Sharing experiences is one of the finest ways to strengthen existing relationships. You will share experiences and make lifelong memories while travelling together. These interactions will strengthen your bonds because they will bring you closer together. Your relationship, as well as your enjoyment, will benefit greatly from this link!
3. Meeting new people and making connections when travelling
Travel will enable you to create new connections and relationships in addition to your current ones. Meeting new people who you otherwise would not have the chance to is made possible through travel. The same “unknown” circumstances will make it simpler for people to relate to one another. You two share a characteristic in that you both arrived at the same place, and you might even have had similar experiences. Even though these connections frequently feel urgent, they are simple to recognise if you cross paths again. Or in some circumstances, these new relationships will become a part of your new life (just like they did for us). Whether a romantic, friendly, or professional relationship is meant. Creating these new connections is also one of the benefits of travel for developing life experiences!
While living at home, this is not the same. People that live close to you aren’t usually as receptive to dating. It is difficult to join their existing “clique” of friends because they already have one. When we are caught up in the routine of our 9 to 5 jobs, we frequently lack the time or energy to meet new people.
4. Travel alters brain chemistry and fosters creativity
Travel rewires our brains, according to neuroscientists, because acquiring new experiences is essential for creating new neural connections in the brain. You also develop greater creativity and productivity as your brain changes. Professor at Columbia Business School Adam Galinsky emphasises the importance of becoming fully immersed in that location’s local culture. It won’t make a difference if you simply visit a different nation or city without integrating yourself properly. This is something that we have also discovered to be true. We always try to “live in the moment” while we’re on the road, and it’s helped us produce some of our most motivational writings, movies, and artwork.
5. Travelling is good for our health
Travel keeps us healthy, according to research! According to a study by the Transamerica Centre for Retirement Studies and the Global Commission on Ageing, women who vacation at least twice a year are less likely to experience a heart attack than those who only take trips every six years or more. Men who don’t take an annual vacation are also more likely to pass away from heart disease. The basic line is that your health will improve as you get happier, and vice versa. Travelling is also a great method to keep happy and healthy!
