Pack Your Bags

I'm exhausted and couldn't feel better about it.?I just got back from a rigorous two-week expedition to find and photograph 24 prehistoric stone circles and dolmens in England from those in the Lake District in the north, in Shropshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon, down to Cornwall in the south. My new hiking boots, and my old creaky knees got quite a workout.?These structures pre-date the pyramids at Giza by thousands of years. It was physically demanding, navigationally challenging, but also simultaneously humbling, awe-inspiring, and gratifying.?We loved it. But I've heard from a few friends that this expedition sounded more like labor than fun.?From the now-gone Marian High School I remember the Latin phrase "suum cuique" - to each their own.

So, what's your idea of fun? Perhaps you'd rather be swimming, or biking, or visiting museums, or cruising, or camping, or stretched out in a hammock somewhere with a good book in one hand and an umbrella drink in the other.?But I would advise you to travel someplace that you're not familiar with to do it. Now that the worst of the recent pandemic is behind us, the rest of the world (or even just the next county over) is out there waiting for you.

Mark Twain (himself quite the traveler) said "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."?I won't digress here to the problems in our country or of the world but a " broad, wholesome, charitable view of men and things" might be rather beneficial in many ways and in many places.?

Beyond broadening one's perspective, travel has multiple other benefits. Let's quickly run through a few of them.

Paths Forward

Stress and Anxiety Reduction

More than a few public health studies show that travel can reduce stress and anxiety.?The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health reported even just one short-term vacation has large, positive, and immediate effects on stress, recovery, strain, and well-being. Those beneficial effects last quite a while after you return home and can still be detected at 30 days and up to 45 days afterwards.

Is Travel A Stressor?

One goal of travel is to chill out, unwind, relax, and leave behind your typical day to day stress. If you fear flying, hate trains, get motion sick on long car rides??then factor that into your travel plans.?If the travel is to visit family and friends you'd rather not see, then DON'T SEE THEM. Don't build stress into your travel; it defeats the purpose.?You still need a break to unwind and recharge even if the idea of travel itself or traveling with certain people or fear of foreign cultures creates more stress for you. Consider enjoying a close-by B&B, or plan a solo trip, or a calming stay at a health spa or religious retreat center. Each has its own benefits.

Sleep

The toll of stress is well known but when combined with poor sleep it creates even larger health risks. If you don't regularly get enough sleep, you'll be more tired, more irritable and your intellectual performance and efficiency will be diminished. A flexible schedule while you travel can make it easier to get the seven to seven and a half hours per night recommended for adults. Perhaps a new culture might convince you to take time out for a nap or an after-lunch siesta.

Fitness Benefits

Getting out from behind the cash register, stove, work bench, or out of the office chair can't help but improve your health. Disney World estimates that an average guest totals 20,000 to 30,000 steps a day. Touring a new city, activities like pickleball, paddle boarding, hiking, kayaking and even leisurely swimming, golfing or croquet can help to boost fitness.

Better Health

Travel decreases the risks of heart attacks and makes your brain healthier. The same study determined that an annual vacation could lower men’s risk of death by 21 percent and mortality from cardiovascular disease by 32 percent.?And women who avoid vacations also have a higher risk of heart disease and death from heart disease.

Your Horizons Expand

Getting out of your comfort zone strengthens your change skills. And in life (either at work or out of work) change is an inevitable fact of life.?The more you see, the more curious you'll become, the more curious you become, the more you'll learn.

You Learning About Others.

In a shrinking and diverse world, it is increasingly helpful to be exposed to other cultures, styles of life, and traditions. Many in your school, church, or workplace will be interested to hear about what impression or insights you've brought home with you.

Others Learning About You

Most folks are as interested in you as you are in them.?Being a courteous guest in a new town, country or different country builds bonds and friendships you may never have had otherwise. In a fractured country and troubled world this can only benefit us all.

Enhance Your Creativity

Seeing new things, seeing common things in a new light, engaging in new experiences, meeting new people all increase your cognitive flexibility. If you are looking to start a new hobby, develop a new interest, expand your artistic or musical skill in some way that cognitive flexibility will help you make intellectual connections you never perceived.

A year ago, I'd have said you were crazy suggesting I'd soon be actively combining a long-dormant interest in photography with a new interest in prehistoric ruins.?Who knows what you’ll see, what you will think of, and what you'll discover.

Be Happier.

For most folks, taking a break from the daily grind of work, elders, kids, pets, work deadlines, kids lessons (and the chauffeuring they require), and annual reviews is more than just relief; it's fun. A study at Cornell University showed that experiential purchases leave a longer-lasting feeling of happiness than material purchases. Travel experts will verify that younger travelers especially are more apt to spend money on?doing?things than on buying?things.

That Cornell study also showed that “waiting for experiences tends to be more positive than waiting for possessions.” And that “people derive more happiness from the anticipation of experiential purchases and that waiting for an experience tends to be more pleasurable and exciting than waiting to receive a material good.” It shows that planning a trip in itself can have a positive effect boosting happiness and a sense of reward.

LifeMap:?Making the effort to travel is well worth it because it has so many physical, cognitive and emotional benefits.