Hey! I have some questions for you – When was your last trip? When did you travel for the last time abroad? Or explore new unique places in your country? Traveling the world is not only a fun and exciting adventure, but it also has a lot of benefits to your health and life. 

Usually, we think about traveling as a luxury to indulge ourselves in a summer or winter vacation or as a short weekend break to dive into new adventures. But very rarely do we think about traveling in terms of the positive effects on our health. So here we summarize some scientifically proven benefits of traveling for you and some positive effects we have experienced. Let’s take a look at the top 10 reasons to travel. *

Health benefits of traveling

1.Travel improves your immune system

Not only vitamins, minerals, and exercises could help for your good health. One of the positive effects is that traveling can help your immune system get stronger and respond to viruses better. When you visit new places with new food, climate, flora, and fauna, your body must interact with conditions different from your usual area. It has to adapt to the new situation, creating more antibodies that make your body stronger. In this way, you will be better protected, and you could easier overcome similar illnesses in the future.

2.Travel decreases the risk of heart disease

Oh, you know we all have this busy life, job, kids, a lot of tasks to do, and so little time to complete all of them. Don’t we lead a stressful life most of the time? How long do you think it is possible to handle this pressure? Stress can lead to higher blood pressure and blood sugar levels. It has a significant influence on causing heart disease and can be harmful to people with diabetes. Some studies show that the chance to suffer from myocardial infarction, coronary death, and heart attack is lower for both women and men who travel more. Travel also helps you lead an active life and experience various things, to reduce the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia as well.

3.When you are on a trip, you are more physically active

Oh, the 9 to 5 job in front of the PC could be so tedious sometimes! And with a lack of activity. So many of us spend a lot of time just sitting and working in the office or at home. 

But here comes the traveling again and another positive part of it. It allows you to be active the whole day while exploring local attractions or participating in different activities. Most of the time, you probably won’t notice how much movement and steps you do while roaming around at the destination. I remember my first visit to Amsterdam. We were walking for 12 hours through the city with only a few short breaks when in the end, we realized – we finished the tour with 38k steps /around 28km/ for one day! But we didn’t feel tired that day because we were impressed by this fantastic city. Yes, on the next day, we had muscle soreness, but Amsterdam was worth it.

While traveling alone or with your friends, you are physically active and get enough exercise for your muscles. Usually, you do various activities such as sightseeing or adventure sports (hiking, skiing, swimming, watersports), and you won’t just spend your day resting in the hotel room. And for instance, studies show that if you choose to travel to a cold place, such a change in the temperature could help you burn calories. Your body will burn extra calories to keep warm. So, ladies, book your next trip!

4.Travel away from the city can improve respiration

Most of us live in big crowded cities, and maybe you don’t realize it, but your respiratory system struggles from that. The pollution in the big towns impacts your lungs and could cause asthma, bronchitis, or lung cancer. When you travel to places far away from urban pollution, your lungs detoxify. 

What do you think about a day in nature? Or in the mountain? Or near the sea? You know about all these ocean sides and salt baths which people visit to recover from various diseases. And scientific studies have shown that sea air can help overcome lung disease. Breathing in ocean air helps to reduce coughing and improve lung function.

5.Beauty tips – traveling is good for your skin

Does your skin feel unhealthy? Have you noticed how it changes when you are under pressure? Stress can lead to increased cortisol production, more sebum, and your skin can seem greasy. Or it can cause worse skin conditions, such as psoriasis or eczema. If you take a good vacation, it can help you overcome stress and decrease the chance of such skin problems.

Let’s imagine you are walking on the beach. The exfoliating quality of the sand and sea salts, together with the saltwater and iodine’s ability to detoxify your skin, can significantly improve your skin condition. Furthermore, swimming in magnesium-rich ocean water can hydrate your skin and reduce skin roughness. What could you want more – a relaxing vacation that helps you stay young!

Psychological benefits of traveling

6.Traveling enriches your experience

Yes, you know it! You can’t go somewhere without learning something extra. When you’re traveling, your brain will face a lot of information to deal with. Your daily schedule will be different, leading you to new ideas and decisions all the time.

People traveling abroad usually develop empathy and a deeper understanding of other cultures. What I mean by that is visiting a foreign country can have a lot of advantages for you. You know about the Erasmus program and the unique idea of living and studying in a foreign country for a couple of months.

For example, two years ago, when I lived in Germany for a couple of months, I met the whole world. I spent a lot of time with people from Germany, India, Mexico, Poland, Tunisia, China, Malaysia, Columbia, Russia. We studied together, traveled together, cooked traditional meals together, played sports together, learned about each other’s cultures… It was really a great international experience that I won’t forget.

But also short trips and vacations give you the chance to be in contact with foreign cultures. Traveling to unfamiliar regions challenges you to adapt to a different culture and interact with people you don’t know. You learn new ideas and viewpoints, deal with different situations, make new friendships. It opens you up to new cultures and experiences. You learn how people live and enjoy, which can expand your mind. These changes can make the brain more active and form new neural connections that keep it sharp and creative.

7.Traveling relieves stress and lowers the risk of depression.

You had a lovely holiday. Now you are back at home. Yes, really sad, but you are full of energy and impressions because of your fantastic vacation on the Maldives’ beaches. Or in romantic Paris? Or in the countryside nearby? However, you have rested well, you are less anxious and in a better mood some days after returning. You may also notice that your relationships with your family, friends, and colleagues are better. At work, you increase your productivity because you have recharged your batteries, and your mind has new power to cope with the challenges.

And don’t be surprised if soon after your return, you’re already thinking about your next vacation escape! I usually do it. By taking a break from the everyday stressors, the stress hormone cortisol gets lower, which speeds down the aging process.

With a nice short trip away from the city, you can refresh your mind, cool off the stress, and have the opportunity to focus on yourself. Or you can visit an old friend living abroad and reminisce about the old days. So how do you think – are there many experiences that can offer all these benefits at once?

8. Travel-related stuff makes you happy.

Have you noticed how the excitement of traveling makes you happy? I am always so excited when I am planning my next trip. The discussion about the destination, the exciting attractions I might find there keep my mind away from the daily tasks and boost my happiness. Search for accommodation through sites like Booking, Airbnb, Hotels.com, Couchsurfing, Green pearls. Try to use tour operators like Purposeful Nomad, Lokal, Viahero, or GAdventures for tours that work alongside destinations and not exploiting them.

The more details you research and discuss, such as the local food you want to taste, the resort facilities you wish to indulge in, the sightseeing points and shops you plan to visit, the higher your happiness level. And this is actually scientifically proved! So, just open your Instagram, look at all these incredible photos, and choose your next destination. Then, go to a place you have ever wanted to visit and collect as many memories as you can. Take your camera and shoot all these fun moments. In the future, they could remind you about this great excursion, and the happy hormones dopamine and serotonin will flow again.

9.Traveling strengthens your relationships

Yes, it is great and highly beneficial if you travel alone, meet new people, and make new relationships. But if your partner wants to come with you – that’s amazing! He/She wants to spend more time and to create memories with you. This time together can strengthen your relationship and add more value to it. Many couples feel closer after vacation when they have found more shared interests with their partners and better have known each other.

On the other hand, family relationships between parents and children could improve when they spend more time together away from daily tasks. No, don’t look at me like this! Once a year, go somewhere with your family and spend quality time with them. Don’t forget – these are your most important people in the world!

10.Going on vacation can help you sleep better.

In our busy lives, we often have a lack of sleep and feel tired the next day. Sleep is essential to overall health, and its deficiency can cause various problems. But traveling has a positive role here, too. You know that it’s not recommended to use electronic gadgets in bed before sleep. The produced blue light reduces the natural production of melatonin and decreases the feelings of sleepiness. So, what I mean here – when you are on vacation, you are too busy with the impressing things around and your plans for the following days. You will be less likely to spend time surfing the Internet on the laptop or mobile. Spending time on other outdoor activities in natural sunlight during the day can help your circadian rhythm regulate itself. As a result, you won’t have trouble falling asleep, and you are up and energized the next day. Have you noticed that until now – when you are in a cottage in the mountain, for example, and you wake up fresh from birds singing early in the morning?

But after all these positive sides of traveling, I just want to add some caution as well. What I mean by that is:

-Please think about traveling as something that should help eliminate stress, not cause it! Be well prepared for your next trip and the different kinds of surprises that could appear. Know where you go and what you want to visit. Have in mind some cultural differences and local circumstances, so you can fully enjoy your trip.  

-If you are traveling to an exotic country, make sure that you have the necessary vaccine so that traveling doesn’t harm your health.

-Also, think well about what you want to pack and carry on the trip. Be sure to include essentials and medicines for emergency cases. But leave behind some highly valuable or expensive items that you don’t really need. And don’t overpack. You must carry this backpack somehow.

-Lastly, be careful! Keep well your belongings, don’t take risks, and take care of your travel buddy, too! And we recommend not to leave home without travel insurance.

After all, I believe that you can find the benefits of traveling for you, too! Think about it as a moment to rest and as something that improves your overall physical and mental health. If you have a chance to travel, grab it now! 

What is your favorite thing about traveling? Share with me below.

*The notes in this post are for information purposes only. Never disregard professional psychological or medical advice or treatment because of something you have read on the Internet.

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