It’s hard to argue that travelling is bad for our morale. After all, each time we take a vacation, we typically have a big smile on our faces weeks before, during and many days after the trip. Furthermore, the health advantages, memories and life experience we acquire from travelling are vast in number. Here are 8 reasons travel is good for us:
1. Travel makes us happy.
In 2017, Cornell University conducted a study that found happiness levels are correlated with hours spent travelling. According to the study, money spend on experiences makes us happier than money spent on material objects. Why? Objects offer diminishing returns of happiness as we adapt to their presence whereas experiences can make us happy each time we remember them.
2. Travel boosts our self-confidence.
The findings of a study conducted by Booking.com were recently published by Marie Claire. It transpired that 65% of people surveyed, all of who were travellers, reported that their first time aboard boosted their self-confidence. Psychologist Amandine Legrand, who is a blog writer for Un sac sur le dos, hypothesises that travel boost self-confidence as it provides several opportunities to thrive at one’s own pace without any external pressures.
3. Travel helps us to find ourselves.
Solo travelling is a chance to broaden our horizons and test our limits. Visiting new places and going on Borneo holidays helps us to connect with our inner-selves and discover who we really are free from the influence of familiar faces. By exploring the world, we ultimately explore ourselves. In other words, each person’s inner journey of discovery is equally as important as every physical journey.
4. Frequent travellers become skilled adaptors.
The ability to adapt to any situation at the drop of hat is an attractive quality to many employers. When on the road, the challenges we encounter and the experiences we gain can be priceless in the jobs market. Frequent travellers aka globetrotters are perceived as brave and resourceful by many.
5. Travel makes use more open-minded.
By travelling long distances, we soon learn how much impact cultural references have on the lives of us humans. When we put ourselves in others’ shoes, we expand our view of the world. Encountering different mindsets, cultures and traditional values can initially be unsettling, but in the end, it makes use more open-minded and stronger as individuals.
6. Vacations give us time to pause.
Often we’re too close to a problem to solve it. A vacation provides some welcomed distance and allows us to see things in a new light. We’re not saying to run away from all problems, but just to give ourselves some time for reflection. Experiencing new realities by travelling also gives us a chance to put things in perspective and re-evaluate some of our priorities.
7. Travelling keeps us feeling youthful.
Regular vacations can help us stay healthy. This finding was uncovered by a collaborate study conducted by the Transamerica Centre for Retirement Studies, the Global Commission on Ageing, and the US Travel Association. The results of the study were published in the Los Angeles Times and stated that females who take less than one vacation every seven years have an increased likelihood of developing heart disease or having a heart attack when compared to females who go on holiday at least twice annually.
8. Travel decreases stress levels.
Surveys conducted by the United States Travel Association in partnership with the Transamerica Centre for Retirement Studies and the Global Commission reveal that after a day or two following arrival, 89% of vacationers report a marked drop in stress levels. The real challenge is to retain the zen-like state upon returning home.