Reduce Stress with Travel: 4 Positive Effects of Exploring the World
Every-day life is layered with different stressors. Shouldering numerous responsibilities on a day-to-day basis, devoting most of your hours to work and to personal study growth can get exhausting. Not to say that these are not essential to a normal functioning life but they can also largely contribute to burnout and mental tiredness. Living in a constantly stressful environment without breaks or a pause is a life that is difficult and almost immemorable.
Travel can help clear your head in that regard. A breath of fresh mountain air, a whiff of the sea breeze, walking up to natural sunlight, and the sound of birds can to a great extent cure and calm you down. The sense of being physically displaced from your location of work or place of stay by and large brings excitement into everyday existence. According to a Cornell University study, the anticipation of a trip can increase your happiness substantially, even more than the anticipation of acquiring something tangible.
The exciting feeling of having an experience, of witnessing things that you have never seen or imagined before can be brought to you simply with the thought of a trip and the ideation of one. It gives you something to look forward to and work towards. Humans are attracted to experiences that are senseful, and that gives meaning to their lives which is why a large part of the population considers the bigger picture of earning or saving money as a means to be able to travel and gain exposure to different cultures and to different ways of life.
Impact of Travel on Well-being –
Travel can help press re-set on your life. It infuses countless experiences, stories, mindset shifts, and personal growth. Thus, enabling peace to enter your life and providing you with a refreshed mind and a reinvented version of yourself. Newer opportunities to grow and evolve contribute highly to reduced stress levels.
Traveling is also widely known to provide you with tranquility and increase your happiness. Additionally, it can bring your mental composure and serenity. According to a 2013 study, more than 80% of Americans, who were surveyed, noticed significant drops in stress just after a day or two of traveling. “Even though I’m always busy when I travel, whether it’s sightseeing, taking photos, or just exploring a destination on foot, I know I’m the calmest and most relaxed when I travel,” says Jacintha Verdegaal, an avid traveler and founder of travel and lifestyle blog, Urban Pixxels.
Science on the relationship between travel and stress reduction –
There has been a significant amount of research on the relationship between travel and stress reduction. Countless studies state the fact that not only does it bring down stress levels, it builds up your mental resilience and makes you more focused.
A study published in the Journal of Travel Research in 2014 found that people who delved in vacations had lower levels of stress and higher levels of well-being compared to those who did not take vacations.
Another study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2010 found that people who had novel experiences that made them gaze in awe, owing to the beauty of the places they visited, experienced higher levels of well-being and lower levels of stress.
The Journal of Environmental Psychology in 2009 found that spending time in natural environments, such as during travel to outdoor destinations, can also help reduce stress and improve mental wellbeing drastically.
Taking vacations, defined as taking pleasure trips outside an individual’s usual environment, is seen as an integral feature of human life for many people (Richards 1999). As observed by Hobson and Dietrich (1995), our society has assumed that “tourism is a mentally and physically healthy pursuit to follow in our leisure time” (p. 23). It has been found that taking vacations can contribute to subjective well-being because people have more opportunities to detach from their work environment, to experience new things, and to control what they want to do during vacations (Fritz and Sonnentag 2006; Sonnentag and Fritz 2007).
In the tourism literature, Neal, Sirgy, Uysal, and colleagues were among the first to provide a theoretical framework for travel benefits (Neal, Sirgy, and Uysal 1999; Neal, Uysal, and Sirgy 2007; Sirgy et al. 2011). Their scientific inquiry was primarily based on bottom-up spillover theory, which suggests that overall life satisfaction is influenced by evaluations of various life domains, such as personal health, work, leisure, and family, while the positive and negative affects accompanied by life events are assumed to have effects on how individuals evaluate various life domains (Neal, Sirgy, and Uysal 1999). Hence, positive travel experiences can contribute to an individual’s health, family relationships, and overall wellness. – Chun-Chu Chen and James F. Petrick. Health and Wellness Benefits of Travel Experiences: A Literature Review. 709, 1-2 cz,4.
How can travel reduce stress?
As mentioned previously, we now know the role of science in reducing stress while travelling. But what are some of the things you could do while travelling to reduce stress?
Being present around nature:
Studies have shown that being surrounded by nature, around birds, around fresh air and a calming atmosphere reportedly reduces stress levels drastically. Nature in general can bring immense serenity and calm to the human brain.
Unplugging and relaxing:
Most of all, travel can help you unplug. It aids in rejuvenation through giving you the space and time to heal and recover from everyday stresses and mundanity of life. Being on a vacation and being away physically can-do wonders for your brain and your physical health. Serving your soul with some downtime and some relaxation can heal you exponentially.
Newer experiences:
Stimulating novel experiences can drastically boost mental well-being by introducing something new to ponder and feel. Studies show that being exposed to newer cultures, people and ways of life can result into a mindset shift and a changed perception and make you more trusting. Having these experiences and partaking in them brings a sense of control and happiness and creativity.
Exercise and physical activity:
Studies have found that endorphins – responsible for happiness are released when we do any physical activity. Travelling gives us the opportunity to do just that, through the means of hiking, walking, swimming etc.
While the benefits of travel are different for everyone, the basis of taking a break or a breather are universally reported to be good for your well-being.
Offering yourself some time away can make your everyday life considerably better and increase your quality of being.
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