Does Travel bring happiness? Traveling has many benefits. In addition to improving your mental and physical health, it induces positive feelings. When we prepare for our next excursion, pack our bags, or board that flight, we get excited. We break from our regular life at home and enter the unknown.
Exploring destinations, the attractiveness of nature, and meeting new people are very attractive and relieve our stress and worries of being at home and at work.
So the answer is obviously yes. Travel is the secret to living well.
Studies have shown that happiness is positively correlated with travel. At the 2016 Happiness 360 Conference, it was noted that happier people tend to travel more. Another study, conducted by Cornell University, has revealed that individuals experience greater happiness from merely planning their vacation. This suggests that the advantages of traveling occur well before actual vacation takes place.
The key to traveling more? Saving money is always important when traveling. Download our free eBook on saving money when traveling. These techniques have saved us thousands of dollars on our trips around the world. We hope they help you save too!
5 reasons why travel makes you happy – Does Travel bring happiness?
1. Travel creates lasting memories
The results of research conducted by Cornell University in 2017 revealed that happiness is greater when going on vacation than obtaining physical items. When we buy an item, our happiness will gradually decrease because we grow accustomed to it. However, if we go on trips, it will give us pleasure and joy that will remain with us for the rest of our lives or even longer.
This means investing in an expensive car, cell phone, or outfit will not produce the same level of happiness as experiences. After a few weeks to a few months, you will get used to your new car, and you will become bored. You could be thinking about replacing your phone because it is slower and getting “old.”
There is nothing you can purchase in a shopping mall that can compare to seeking out a new destination. When you travel abroad, you will discover exciting experiences, such as interacting with locals, understanding foreign cultures, or seeing sights you have never seen before. These new experiences are creating new memories that we will share with our friends, and these memories will help us in the future. Thinking about a positive experience is what makes you instantly happier. And this is why you should travel around the world!
2. Travel fosters existing relationships
Social connections are the most important factor in one’s life and satisfaction. These associations may be with your significant other, family, friends, or the larger community around you. Relationships are strongly tied to our emotions. Close and positive relationships make us feel happy, peaceful, and satisfied, while non-existing or negative relationships leave us feeling anxious, depressed, and lonely.
Sharing experiences is one of the best ways to foster existing relationships. When traveling together, you will share experiences and form memories that will last a lifetime. These moments will bring you closer to each other, thus strengthening your bonds with each other. This connection does wonderful things for you and your relationship!
3. Travel builds new relationships and connections
In addition to your current contacts, traveling will also enable you to develop new relationships and connections. Traveling creates the chance to meet new people that you may never have otherwise met. Being in an unknown situation is like having something in common with someone. You may have gone through the same experiences and be in similar circumstances, which could enable you to connect better.
Although these relationships may feel spontaneous, they are easy to spot when you meet again. In other cases (like us), these friendships will become an important part of your new life. This could mean a new love interest, a new friend, or a new relationship. In addition, travel helps one gain life experiences.
While this is not the same while staying at home, people are not usually as open to new relationships. You are not likely to see the same people every day. They have their own “clique” of friends and it can be challenging to join that group. We can often lack the time or energy to meet people when we are obligated to work in our 9 to 5 lives.
4. Travel rewires your brain and enhances creativity
Neuroscientists say that traveling rewires the brain as beneficial experiences are essential for creating new neural pathways. When your brain rewires, you become more creative and productive. Adam Galinsky, a professor at the Columbia Business School, recommends that one immerse oneself in the local culture while traveling.
Merely traveling to another country or city without fully immersing yourself is not going to change the situation. We’ve found this to be our own experience, too. We try to “live in the moment” when traveling and it’s allowed us to create our most interesting travel pieces, videos, and art while we’re out on the road.
5. Traveling keeps us healthy
Research has shown that traveling is good for our health. A study by The Global Commission on Aging and the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that women aged 50 to 69 who traveled twice a year were less likely to have a heart attack than those that only vacationed every six years or less often. Also, those who do not take a vacation every year are more likely to develop heart disease. The happier you are, the healthier you are, and the other way around. One way to stay healthy is to travel!
