What comes to your mind when someone asks you about “travel”? Does travel mean a vacation on the beach while sipping some orange, an adventure to the unknown, or an Instagrammable sunset destination?

The idea of travelling varies from person to person, but the advantages of travelling are unbounded. Travel should be a lifestyle choice and the way you travel is reflective of your life priorities. Leisure has no definition, it all depends on how you feel happy and satisfied. Similarly your travel choices are greatly influenced by your lifestyle choices.

If you are adventurous then a safari trip can be your travel choice, if you love peace,nature and solitude then off beat locations would entice you and if you like lights, music and dance then may be you will choose to make a trip to some upcoming musical show. Your style of living, personality and habits determine your travel choice to a great extent.

When you travel, not the trip or the vacation itself, but the whole process of planning, exploring, and returning from a trip is important. When you realise how the benefits of travelling can do wonders for you, you definitely will have the motivation to pack your bag and start travelling more. What is it about travelling that always makes you feel good after coming back from a trip? There are so many advantages behind travel.

1. Travel Makes You Happier

Sure, a travel experience easily makes you happier by getting you away from your daily grind. And, if you can get away from your parents, kids, freelance work, pets, homework, piano lessons, part-time job, studying for exams or any other things possibly weighing you down, that will definitely put a smile on your face, to say the least.

However, travel makes you happier in another way, as well. According to a study by Amit Kumar, Matthew A. Killingsworth, and Thomas Gilovich from Cornell University, that money spent on doing something (called “experiential purchases”) will leave you with a longer-lasting sense of happiness than money spent on having something (called “material purchases”).

The study says that “waiting for experiences tends to be more positive than waiting for possessions.” And, it goes on to say that “people derive more happiness from the anticipation of experiential purchases and that waiting for an experience tends to be more pleasurable and exciting than waiting to receive a material good.”

2. Travel Lets You Disconnect & Recharge

One of the best things you can do for your mental health every now and again, especially as a busy college student with an evening job or a young professional working 12-hour shifts, is to disconnect in order to recharge.

Working or studying for days, weeks, and months on end may help get you where you’re looking to go. However, you deserve a break every once in a while from the chronic stress. If not, you may suffer from burnout, depression, anxiety, and a whole host of other problems and ailments.

If traveling to a foreign country or experiencing a different culture doesn’t sound like a true break from everyday life and its stressful situations, stay local or do a solo trip to someplace remote and serene. The important thing for your is to unwind. That’s a health benefit and travel tip all rolled into one!

3. Traveling Relieves Stress and Anxiety

In a randomized controlled trial conducted by Austrian researchers and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, one of the many great travel benefits is that it can reduce stress levels and anxiety.

The researchers found that even just one short-term vacation (~3 days in length) “independent of the mode, has large, positive and immediate effects on perceived stress, recovery, strain, and well-being.” Furthermore, the beneficial effects last quite a while after you return home. “The effects can still be detected at 30 days (recovery) and 45 days (well-being and strain) post-vacation.”

Just make sure the way you travel doesn’t cause you stress, either! If you have a fear of air travel or a disdain for family travel, go by rail or take a solo travel experience. The important thing is to break away from the chronic stress of everyday life in order to calm down and reset your mind.