Your brain on holiday

Three minutes on how travel can impact neuroplasticity, mental health, and personality.

Going on holiday gives you a break from the norm, the chance to switch off from work, sleep in, and maybe even dust off your seldom-used language skills. But what effect does going on holiday have on your brain? Can it improve your mental health? And even increase neuroplasticity?

There’s growing evidence that yes, it can do all those things. Your brain really does need a holiday. 

Neuroplasticity

According to Heights Chief Science Officer, Dr Tara Swart, travelling throughout your life is one of the best ways to encourage neuroplasticity —the brain’s ability to grow and adapt as we age. 

In Dr Tara Swart’s Work In interview with Heights she said;

‘There's so much that you can do to keep your brain flexible and to keep it learning, growing, and changing. If you learn a language, or if you travel… these are classic examples of things that are attention-intense enough to physically change your brain. For some people it might be cooking, or it might be coding. It's (the act of) pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and having to make such an effort, that it actually builds up new neural pathways in your brain.’

Mental health

81% of people said they took a holiday for mental wellness, and 91% use holidays as a way to help with stress and anxiety. 

Just the act of having a holiday booked to look forward to can help you to have a better sense of well-being, and be more positive about life. When people get back from holiday their happiness levels stay higher than usual for up to a month afterwards. 

Regular holidays can also help with your wider mental health. People who go away twice a year are less likely to suffer from tension, depression, or fatigue, and were more satisfied with their marriages. 

Personality

In this study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, university students over the course of a year were studied to see what affect travel or spending time abroad had on their personalities. At the end of the year, the “big five” personality traits; extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were all higher in those who had spent time travelling.  

Long story, short?

Tell your boss you need some time off, and if you're your own boss and feel guilty about it (like I am, and do) - then here's your scientific reasoning about why you can't risk it.

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I'm the Co-Founder of brain health and mental wellness company Heights - we make the highest quality natural smart supplements taken daily by some of the sharpest brains in Europe.