Benefits of Travelling – Reasons why you should do it more

What inspired this article

I would like to give a comprehensive list of the benefits of travelling abroad. The purpose of this article is to convince you to prioritize travel more in your life.

I have always loved travel but have not always prioritized it in my life.

I have recently returned from a short trip that really revived me. This trip involved spending time in Venice, Trieste and Ljubiana.

Before going on this trip, I lacked excitement in my life. I felt like I needed to make changes but was not able to.

The holiday really revived me. I came home with so much more energy.

I decided that travel should be made more of a priority in my life.

Benefits of travelling

1. Recharges you

When you are on a trip away, you encounter a series of highly enjoyable moments. I define these as happy moments.

Enjoy every second of each “happy moment”. These are the moments that will recharge you and give you a new sense of vigour.

Prior research and planning can help increase chances of these enjoyable moments, but not always required.

My first happy moment was at a little cosy bar in Venice. We had had a very early 5am morning flight with a delay of 1.5 hours in Frankfurt Airport and had spent the entire day walking all around Venice.

We were very tired. I was very happy with my spritz before dinner in this cosy bar. The dog lying on the floor in the bar beside me only heightened the joy of my experience!

The next happy moment was due to some prior research and planning. Cannaregio was a coffee shop that was a little off the beaten track, but got raving reviews, and appeared to be frequented by locals. Sitting in the sun with my espresso overlooking the Venetian canal was extra special.

Leaving our minimalist contemporary apartment in Trieste for the evening and walking through the town for the first time was a happy moment for me. I was overwhelmed with excitement and appreciation of every sight around me. From the architecture to the locals, the atmosphere was buzzing in this sleepy town as people began to wind down for Friday evening.

Our first meal in Trieste was a happy moment. We found a charming restaurant that was very busy with locals. Our kind helped us to translate the menu and helped us to choose the most “typical” Trieste dishes. He also spent a lot of time with us giving us his recommendations for our trip.

Breakfast the following morning was rather special. Café de Specchi in the main Piazza was a favourite of my grandmother. There is nothing like sitting outside in the sun, listening to the church bells ringing, with a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant!

2. Can help move you forward in life

When you jump outside of your usual location and routine you will gain more perspective on your life.

By travelling to a new location you will gain a “bird’s eye view” of the life that you are living. This “bird’s eye view” intelligence can be the secret to moving forward. A trip can help to propel you in the right direction.

3. Enhances your creativity

Your best ideas come from embracing new experiences and exposing yourself to new possibilities.

Travel can potentially “expand” and “open up” your thinking in a new way and potentially boost your output.

4. Gives you a sense of freedom & adventure like nothing else

There is nothing like spontaneously jumping on a train to a new city to get a profound feeling of freedom and adventure.

Although planning ahead can be beneficial, sometimes a bit of spontaneity can really add to a travel experience.

5. Empowers you and gives you confidence

Travel can re-inforce the fact that you have the power to make things happen in your life. Sounds simplistic but sometimes we forget.

The new experiences and challenges that you come across while travelling can also help you to discover your personal strengths and weaknesses. It can give you insights into how you need to grow and develop as a character.

Before I went on the trip I was in re-active mode. Life was happening to me. Going on the trip involved making a decision and the daily planning and series of successful happy experiences gave me a revived confidence.

6. Increases your resilience

The challenges that you learn to overcome while travelling can boost your overall resilience.

7. A better appreciation for your home when you return

When you travel to new places abroad you will be better able to appreciate your own country.

If you never venture outside of your country, it is human nature to take its good points for granted.

In my own experience, after returning from travel, I have a much better appreciation of the great things that my own country has to offer.

8. An incredible workout for the brain

When it comes to our daily routines we do not need much brain power to operate. We are doing many of our daily tasks on autopilot.

When you are travelling around, you are researching options, planning ahead, embracing new situations and meeting new people.

Research from the Global Coalition on Aging found that travellers have increased brain function and reaction time from the mental stimulation experienced during travel.

In the many parts of my life that do not involve focus and concentration, I do operate in sleepy mode. Let’s face it though, many of us do. I made a conscious effort to be more alert on the trip in order to successfully navigate on the trip and maximize my experiences!

9. Cardiovascular benefits

Travelling can provide cardiovascular benefits and many studies have reported this.

The New York Times reported that your risk of coronary heart disease or heart attacks will be reduced if you take a holiday every 2 years rather than every 6 years.

10. Prolongs life

Taking regular holidays from work could prolong life – a 40-year study published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging has proven.

The study was called “Helsinki Businessmen Study” and it involved 1222 middle-aged male executives.

The conclusion of this study was that the longer the holiday time, the longer the life. Shorter vacations were associated with excess deaths. Men who took three weeks or less annual vacation had a 37 per cent greater chance of dying in 1974 to 2004 than those who took more than three weeks.

The research presented at the European Society of Cardiology, and was published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging.

I hope that this list of the benefits of travelling has inspired you to book some trips very soon! To read about why holidays are important to the health and success of entrepreneurs, check out this article.

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