The Health Benefits of Travel

Why do we travel? Well, I could give you a 100 reasons to travel, but I’ll stick to one big reason for this post — it’s good for your health. Yup, there are now studies that prove a myriad of health benefits that are associated with traveling. If you think about it logically, it makes complete sense. When you’re on holiday, with a change of pace and scenery, you’re supposed to temporarily vacate your mind of the struggles and challenges of your life at home.

One of the best ways to relax, refresh, and recharge is to take a trip somewhere. Anywhere. It doesn’t have to be thousands of miles away. It can even be in your hometown. The whole point is to relieve ourselves from the humdrum realities of daily life. And now, in the midst of the chaos of the hectic shopping season and holidays, it’s even more important to think about our well-being and the wellness of our loved ones.

Though I travel a lot for work, sometimes I need a break from that kind of travel and need a proper vacation that involves sunshine, massages, endless joy, and the art of doing nothing. And I find resorts are the best places for that often times as they offer packages that bundle together many of the relaxing activities, taking away the headache of the legwork when the primary goal of the vacation is delicious idleness. For example, the current Pick Your Package promotion by Marriott Resorts offers just that. And I love that they have properties in destinations that offer more than just the beautiful luxury properties, because as a personal preference, after the novelty of complete and utter relaxation wears off (which is pretty quickly for me!), I love delving into the cultural aspects of the destination and exploring the local areas.

Without further ado, let me get on with a few health benefits of traveling (there’s hundreds!) and why you should head out of town to your favorite resort this holiday season…

1) REJUVENATE YOUR MIND | Travel can help with your mental health. Traveling facilitates the change of thoughts — you walk new paths, eat different food, hear exotic languages, etc. These changes can help to free you from habitual routines that zap the energy out of life.

2) TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN WELL-BEING | Travel allows you to do things for yourself. When you travel, you do things you love, see places you want to visit, pamper yourself with little delights, buy things you fancy — all things that you may neglect to do while at home but can make the world of difference on how you feel.

3) DISCONNECT YOUR DIGITAL LIFE | Travel helps you to recharge by disconnecting your digital life. Your overworked gadgets, not to mention fingers, need a break too! If your morning routine includes tackling a full inbox and partaking in many scheduled conference calls, replace it with enjoying a cup of coffee without distractions and taking a leisure morning stroll with your partner on the beach.

I like to think of traveling as a stepping stone to the realization of one of the most essential goals of life: to maximize happiness.

100 reason to travel

 

1. To experience the WOW factor
2. To escape routine
3. To learn about new cultures
4. to witness the peak of human adaptability
5. To create new friendships
6. To find inner peace
7. To gain a new perspective
8. To de-stress
9. To discover yourself
10. To broaden your horizons
11. To master a new language
12. To sample new cuisines
13. To dare to be different
14. To expand your professional network
15. To put your problems into perspective
16. To see the beauty of nature
17. To reach new heights in common sense
18. To explore your creative side
19. To gawk at the man-made wonders of the world
20. To taste freedom
21. To grow personally and intellectually
22. To feel alive
23. To realize that humans are the same everywhere
24. To hone your self-confidence
25. To view “home” with a new pair of eyes
26. To attend unique cultural, art, and music festivals
27. To participate in an authentic cooking class with locals
28. To make yourself more interesting
29. To formulate more informed decisions
30. To debunk myths and stereotypes
31. To strengthen your social skills
32. To watch 24 hours of daylight
33. To admire art from all over the world
34. To situate yourself in the broader context of humanity
35. To introspect and appreciate the value of solitude
36. To be humbled
37. To curate a group of friends in all corners of the globe
38. To buff up your CV
39. To instill vitality into your academic education
40. To know that your basic needs are luxuries elsewhere
41. To get cultured
42. To heal old wounds
43. To feed your soul
44. To observe different ways of living
45. To quell your curiosities
46. To inject life into the cliché: you only live once
47. To become a storyteller
48. To eat your way through the world’s cultures
49. To think globally and act locally
50. To improve your sense of geography
51. To test and push your limits
52. To delve deeper into your talents and interests
53. To live a life without regrets
54. To ensure that you don’t take all that you have for granted
55. To adventure through spectacular realms of nature: forests, jungles, hot springs, and mountains
56. To reflect back on your life with fond memories and impress your older self
57. To place yourself in the driver’s seat of our own destiny
58. To encounter the complexities of the world and be aware of plaguing global social issues
59. To invest in your mental wellness
60. To open your mind and eyes
61. To try a new job that you would have never thought to try
62. To empower yourself
63. To change your life
64. To stay forever young at heart
65. To bring out your adventurous spirit
66. To pick up a new hobby
67. To fashion new thought processes
68. To notice the charm of EVERY country
69. To rev up your sense of empathy
70. To sharpen your sense of humor
71. To inspire and be inspired
72. To revive your joie de vivre
73. To challenge yourself constantly
74. To meet the world’s population one person at a time and make it a smaller place
75. To interact with animals in the wild
76. To stop making excuses for things you really want to do
77. To seek the thrill of new
78. To breed innovation
79. To effect positive change, one person at a time
80. To forge long-lasting relationships
81. To document life and improve your photography skills
82. To inch towards becoming a global citizen
83. To face your fears and gain courage
84. To mature and become independent
85. To lead by example for future generations
86. To volunteer and help improve the quality of someone else’s life
87. To acquire practical life skills and become more street-smart
88. To support the livelihoods of local artisans and craftspeople
89. To journey through the seven ancient wonders of the world
90. To serve as an unofficial diplomat for your country
91. To relive history through landmarks, museums, culture, and people
92. To awaken and fine-tune your senses
93. To fuel the local and global economies
94. To visit certain destinations before they’re extinct
95. To evolve into a happier, more well-rounded, and better person
96. To determine your purpose in life
97. To LOVE…
98. To venture into the unknown
99. To tap into your untapped potential
100. To bridge the gap between people, cultures, and countries