Episode 19_THE NEUROSCIENCE OF TRAVELING & WHY IT BENEFITS YOUR BRAIN & HEALTH

FAMILIARITY PROVIDES COMFORT
VARIETY PROVIDES STIMULATION

Many are enthusiastically looking forward to an adventure. Passports renewed, summer wardrobe updated, and dusty suitcases removed from the attics, we are eager to go! And, more importantly, we should go!

As humans, we were not meant to live the same day, every day, in the same way, without adding healthy doses of variety and adventure. Just as we were not meant to live dull lives, we were certainly not meant to live in a manner too many are currently describing as "stressed out."

A CHANGE IN SCENERY IS GOOD FOR THE BRAIN

The benefits of traveling are plentiful. Traveling boosts both mental and physical health. It resets and recalibrates our lives, which serves to enhance productivity and creativity, while reducing debilitating feelings of stress and burnout. Also, when traveling to destinations of different cultures, it connects us with our humanity. We not only learn about our differences, but also of our similarities. We create moments that translate into memories. These memories become part of our personal repertoire and collection of experiences that we will happily share and look back upon with fondness. As the years pass, we will be pleasantly and positively reminded of a life fully lived.

You know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are?
Anchor chains, plane motors and train whistles.
-George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life)