Do you feel trapped in an endless routine?
Even if you are quite satisfied with your personal life and career, some various mundane tasks and rituals could still make you feel stuck in a rut.
Taking a vacation, whether it is going for a road trip for a couple of hours or going on a 20-hour flight outside the country, can work wonders for your mental health. And stable mental health can have a positive impact on your professional and personal life.
In fact, research has also shown, time and time again, how traveling is good for mental wellness. And here are some of them:
1. Traveling lowers stress level
Traveling allows you to take a break from the daily grind. It allows you to recharge and relax so that when you get back from your holiday, you have a renewed enthusiasm at work. Not to mention that you will be flowing with new ideas.
It also upholds happiness, letting you take your mind off stressful situations. In turn, this lowers the cortisol levels in the brain, the hormone responsible for stress, making you feel more calm and content.
2. Traveling boosts confidence
When you travel, especially if you go on your own, you’ll find yourself making challenging and unexpected choices at times. For example, whether you’d want to maximize your chosen airline’s allowed carry-on size.
This helps you increase self-knowledge about yourself, as well as broaden your perspective. You get to cultivate your inner growth process and raise self-awareness. Moreover, going through these experiences also helps you gain confidence within yourself.
3. Traveling is an act of self-care
When you feel down, it could be easy to feel guilty or think that you don’t deserve great things.
But when you treat yourself to a trip, whether it’s a relaxing weekend getaway or a one of a kind adventure in a far-flung location, that act can be an empowering act of self-care.
Planning a trip can be a great way to let go of any unwanted or negative feelings by showing yourself love or finding your life purpose.
4. Traveling boosts productivity
Your workload in the office could be one of the biggest obstacles that you have to overcome, especially when you want to take a breather and time off.
But does taking time off from your desk make you fall behind your work? Well, according to a study, it is actually the opposite.
Nine out of the ten most productive countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development were found in Europe, and these workers were given 20 paid vacations every year.
In another report, employees who took 11 or more vacation days are more likely to receive raises and bonuses than the ones who took fewer than that.
5. Traveling enhances creativity
New experiences, especially ones that let you immerse yourself in a new culture or see the world from a different perspective, enhance the neuroplasticity of your brain and increase your creativity in the process.
Since our brains are more sensitive to change, it is constantly influenced by new experiences and environments. When you change your environment around you, you could form neural pathways that boost your creativity.
6. Traveling gives a different perspective
Traveling to a new place pushes you out of your comfort zone. Whether you’re soaking in the new culture of a foreign country for the very first time or trying out a new dish, traveling opens your mind to a new way of life.
Everything that you see, hear, or feel helps bring out your inner explorer. You get to see new sights, experience new cultures, new customs and traditions, and learn new languages.
As a result, you come back home with a wider view of how the world works.
7. Traveling resets your body and mind
Traveling lets you have a healthy break from your usual routine. It allows you to break away from regular stressors from work, helping you think, breathe, and decompress.
Taking a break regularly is good because your heart rate drops, and your mind isn’t constantly stimulated by stressors.
Even thinking about your recent experiences from traveling once you get back to work significantly lowers your daily stress.
8. Traveling teaches you to communicate
When you are traveling by yourself or in a group, you get to interact with new people. You will also meet people from different cultures and backgrounds.
It might also let you feel less anxious to talk to your neighbor next door who just immigrated from a foreign country.
There are a lot of benefits to traveling, such as allowing you the freedom to do something that you love, taking the time to rest and recharge, and practicing how to live in the moment. It is not just an enjoyable past time, but also an integral part of creating a healthy and positive mindset in life.