The benefits of Travel & Why We Need to explore more of the world

Travelling is not only a break from routine but also a way to self-develop and become a better person. Learn why you should travel more.

Travelling is a journey that can enrich a person spiritually and physically. Travelling has a huge impact on our lives, at least because it allows us to visit different places and meet new people. 

Whether you travel alone or with someone else, you always feel lost in a new place. Even if you have a map in your hand and a detailed route, you can’t be 100% sure that you won’t get lost on the way or that nothing unexpected will happen.

All these surprises only make us move forward towards new adventures. New places, new acquaintances, new food – that’s what travelling is all about. However, the most important thing is memories that will be with you for the rest of your life. Let’s find out how travel affects people and why we should travel more often.

Self-development through travelling

Many people may think that it is pointless to self-develop through travel. Usually, people travel on holiday which means relaxation. So the question appears, where does self-development come from during a holiday?

The answer has been given by scientists who have conducted relevant research. According to Paul Nussbaum, a clinical neuropsychologist at the University of Pittsburgh, travelling has its own independent effect on the body. As a ‘restorative’ activity for the brain, it can help delay the development of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. “When you find yourself in a new, unusual or challenging environment, your brain reacts accordingly. Speed of operation increases, memory improves, etc. All this has a positive effect on health”, he explains. 

Anything can be new: language, smells, climate, length of daylight, etc. In this new environment, the brain starts actively producing dendrites – neuronal spines responsible for receiving new information. Accordingly, the more dendrites, the more and faster the brain can process information. So while travelling, the brain becomes bigger, which is already a huge plus.

Receiving inspiration

Speaking of inspiration, we instantly think of the great artists and writers who, over the years, have created hundreds of masterpieces of world culture. This is not surprising, as their images are firmly embedded in the minds of many people who have not even heard of them and their works. An interesting fact is that most of them have travelled a lot. Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Fyodor Dostoevsky – they all travelled much in search of inspiration. And this lifehack applies not only to writers but also to other professions that involve creative thinking. 

This fact is now fully confirmed by science. The American social psychologist, Adam Galinski, states that the experience of being in another country increases cognitive flexibility, depth of thought, the ability to make a big picture out of details and to see connections between different categories of things.

Galinski’s work on the connection between creativity in a broad sense and travel demonstrates that memories of a trip to another country help us find multiple solutions to one problem and allow us to avoid getting hung up on one thing when we need to make a decision. And also the experience of living abroad increases creativity.  For this, he used top executives from companies in the fashion industry as an example. As a result, brands whose executives had such experiences were able to create more interesting clothing collections. 

Understand yourself

In addition to the benefits of travelling mentioned above, it also helps people to understand themselves. According to Mary Helen Immordino-Young, a researcher at the Institute of Brain and Creativity at the University of Southern California, stepping out of the comfort zone (which is travelling) helps people better understand themselves. Travelling allows us to learn about a different culture and know better people with different worldviews. Travelling helps people to understand the purpose of their lives, what they want from life and what they can do to make their lives better. 

When you think about yourself, you should not forget about your studies and work. Travelling is great, but there’s still homework to do. Unfortunately, you don’t always manage to do your homework on time, but luckily you can always pay for homework and get decent help if you just order essay writing service.

Briefly on the main points

It’s hard to find a reason not to travel. Switching from routine to relaxation is good for a person’s physical and mental health.

Travelling to new places allows the brain to “power up”, which means it can process information more efficiently. This makes it easier for people to find connections between different events and find unobvious solutions.

Travelling can make you a more integral person: encountering a foreign culture helps you become aware of your values and beliefs.