How Travel Helps Mental Health: Benefits Of Reducing Stress By Exploring The World
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Being able to travel is a privilege, and it can come with many potential health and wellness benefits. From expanding your perspective to strengthening your sense of connectedness, there are many ways that taking a trip could boost your mental and physical well-being. We will cover some of these here, in addition to providing tips that may help you stay balanced and healthy while you travel.
Why and how people travel
There are many reasons to travel and many types of trips. Traveling can be done alone, with a partner, friend, or family member, or with a group. A person might go to the next town over for one night or across the globe for weeks or months. The purpose of travel could be exploration, relaxation, a visit with loved ones, work, or an event like a concert or wedding. Each individual may also have different travel preferences—including how they travel, where to, how often, or whether they like to go at all—and each trip may impact a person in different ways.
It can be helpful to keep this diversity of styles and motivations in mind when thinking about the potential mental health benefits of travel. For example, someone who travels each week for work or who has only ever traveled for a funeral may not experience as many mental health benefits from these journeys as someone who travels for vacation twice a year. Similarly, someone who thrives on routine or has severe anxiety may not benefit as much from travel, even if it's for leisure. In other words, travel can be quite personal, and its effects can vary widely.
Travel as a privilege
It can also be important to remember that being able to travel—especially for leisure and relaxation—is a privilege. The money, childcare, time off work, and legal documentation necessary to explore a new place are not available to everyone. Some people may also experience mobility or physical health challenges that could make travel more difficult or unavailable to them, and others may face discrimination based on aspects of their appearance or identity when traveling. Keeping this context in mind may help a person maintain a healthy sense of perspective when facing travel-related stressors or considering travel for its potential mental health benefits.
How travel helps mental health: Reduced stress, increased happiness, and other potential mental health benefits
Traveling has the potential to benefit a person’s mental health in various ways. Below are some potential positive mental health effects of taking a trip.
Changing your perspective and promoting happiness
Travel has the potential to shift a person’s perspective. Getting exposure to new cultures, learning how people live in a different place, and seeing things you’ve never seen before can broaden your mindset.
This process could potentially increase open-mindedness, gratitude, compassion, and positivity, which could improve mood and relationships, as well as promote personal growth and an overall sense of well-being. Some research also suggests that travel may increase creativity, perhaps due to the way it can help a person see things differently.
Building new skills as one of the mental health benefits of travel
Some types of travel may help a person build new skills, which could increase self-esteem and benefit mental health. Research suggests that travel may even boost one’s cognitive abilities, potentially slowing cognitive decline in older adults.
Giving you a break from work stress or routines
Traveling—even if it’s a one-night trip to a nearby place—can shake up your routines of everyday life. While routines can benefit mental health and overall well-being, they may also contribute to a sense of stagnation. Traveling could help you take a break and return to your routines feeling refreshed, with a new sense of mental clarity. Also, if you’re traveling for vacation, your trip could give you a break from chronic stress related to work. Since stress can negatively impact relationships, resilience, sleep, and physical health, taking a break to travel (if possible) could boost well-being.
Allowing you to meet new people or strengthen existing relationships
No matter where you travel, you’re likely to encounter and engage with at least a few new people, whether they’re locals or fellow travelers. Conversations with those who live in a different place may shift your perspective and increase your sense of overall connectedness. If you’re traveling with or visiting a friend, partner, or family member, you might also have opportunities to experience joy, solve problems, and spend time together, which could strengthen your relationship. Research suggests that having strong and meaningful connections is essential for mental well-being.
How travel helps mental health or physical health in other ways
Depending on the type of trip and the individual, travel could also have a variety of other mental and physical health benefits. For example, it might allow a person to:
- Spend more time in nature, which could have benefits for well-being
- Walk more than they typically do, which could boost mood and physical health
- Try new foods, which could add variety and additional nutrients to one’s eating habits
- Take a break from a hectic life and find mindfulness in the opportunity to slow down
- Cultivate a sense of independence and empowerment by traveling alone, if applicable
Potential mental and physical health challenges associated with travel
While travel can promote a variety of wellness benefits, it also has the potential to cause some challenges. For example, while stepping away from your routines could help you return from your trip feeling refreshed, it could also cause anxiety. A lack of routine could also mean not eating, sleeping, or exercising enough, which could lead to stress, low mood, irritability, a weakened immune system, and a harder time managing any mental health symptoms. In addition, travel could negatively affect health by increasing stress in some cases, whether due to a packed schedule, loneliness, overstimulation, finances, travel mishaps, experiences of racism or queerphobia, or other stressful occurrences.
Tips for finding balance when you travel
To promote the mental health benefits of travel and minimize the impact of any stressors or other potential negative effects, cultivating balance can be key. Here are some tips for doing this on your trip:
- Carry snacks and water with you during the day to stay fueled and hydrated
- Avoid overscheduling; make space for regular downtime and/or alone time to reduce stress
- Practice mindfulness to help you recognize and attend to your needs while traveling and to help you take in and enjoy each moment
- Pack items that may help you sleep well, even in an unfamiliar environment, such as a sleep mask, comfortable pajamas, and an app for white noise
- Bring a journal where you can document your feelings and experiences, which may help you stay emotionally balanced and preserve the positive memories of your trip
When to reach out for mental health support
Given how diverse travel experiences can be, individuals may have a variety of mental health needs on a trip. Whether you’re experiencing loneliness, symptoms of depression, anxiety, or another mental illness, overstimulation, or stress, it can be helpful to have someone to talk to.
One way to receive support, even if you're not at home, is online therapy. This format can allow you to connect with a licensed mental health professional remotely—via phone, video, or live chat—to discuss the challenges of daily life or travel that you may be facing.
With a platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a licensed therapist based on the needs and preferences you share in a brief onboarding questionnaire. You can then meet with your therapist virtually at times that suit your schedule. BetterHelp also allows you to switch therapists at any time, for no additional cost, until you find the right fit.
The advantages of seeking online support
For travelers, a key advantage of seeking online mental health support is that you don't need to commute to an in-person therapy office to receive care. The flexibility and convenience of virtual support tend to be popular among people who travel often. In addition, online therapy can be more affordable than in-person sessions without insurance, which may be helpful to those experiencing financial concerns due to travel or other factors.
What the research says about virtual therapy
Research on the topic of online therapy continues to demonstrate that this format can be similarly effective to in-person therapy. For example, a 2021 study suggested that online therapy is “no less efficacious" than in-person care.
Takeaway
Travel can be an enriching experience, potentially helping a person cultivate gratitude, creativity, self-esteem, a fresh perspective, and stronger social connections. However, some elements of travel can be stressful, which is why finding ways to stay balanced during a trip may be important for mental and physical health. Preserving mental health on a trip can look like practicing mindfulness, avoiding overscheduling, and reaching out for virtual mental health support as needed.
What does travelling do to the brain?
Some research suggests that traveling may help improve cognitive abilities and brain function. This may be because being in a new city or other new environment and using problem-solving skills could give you something of a mental reset and help you form new, meaningful connections.
Does travelling cure anxiety?
Rather than curing anxiety, a more attainable goal is usually to find ways to manage anxiety in a healthy manner (such as by using positive coping mechanisms learned in therapy instead of turning to substance misuse, formerly “substance abuse,” for example). Traveling does not cure or resolve anxiety. That said, while some people may find empowerment and mindfulness through travel, which may help them manage symptoms, other people may feel stressed, overstimulated, and more anxious when traveling. In other words, the way travel may affect mental health is highly individual.
Why do I feel better when I travel?
Feeling better when you travel could happen for many reasons. You might be more at ease when you're not working or subject to as many digital distractions, or you might find benefits from stepping outside of your comfort zone and exploring different cultures, new surroundings, and new ideas. If you often spend more time walking or in nature while traveling, this may also help you feel better when you're on a trip.
Can traveling be a coping mechanism?
Traveling can be a healthy coping mechanism with a lasting positive impact if it's used for self-care and enjoyment. Traveling can also be an unhealthy coping mechanism if it's used for escapism or to avoid one's problems at home.
Is travelling alone good for mental health?
Domestic or international travel by yourself could produce a variety of mental benefits. It could help you gain a more complete and positive sense of who you are, live more in the present moment, break free from the stressors of daily life, promote self-reflection, and enhance mindfulness by helping you be fully engaged in a new place.
Does traveling fix depression?
Traveling is not considered a treatment for depression. If you're experiencing signs of this mental health condition, they typically will not resolve without professional treatment.
How to be happy when you can't travel?
If traveling makes you happy and you are currently unable to travel, it may take some time to work through this reality. Finding things to be grateful for in your current life and uncovering other forms of stress reduction that work for you could be helpful.
How to enjoy life without travelling?
There are many ways to enjoy a fulfilling life and promote mental well-being without traveling. For example, you could focus on other meaningful hobbies that you can do where you live, or on building supportive connections with people who are already nearby.
What is the psychology of people who like to travel?
There may be many different psychological reasons why a person might like to travel. In some cases, it could be a way to constantly refresh one's perspective and feel more alive.
Is travelling bad for mental health?
Traveling can benefit or harm mental health in various ways, depending on the person, the trip, and the circumstances. For example, an extroverted person who takes an annual trip with a group of friends may benefit from strengthening these relationships. However, another person who finds group travel to be stressful or overstimulating may experience mental health difficulties on such a trip.
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