How Traveling Boosts Your Brain

The phrase “I need a vacation” exists for a reason. Travel benefits us in more ways than one ― it gives you something to look forward to, gets you to explore beyond your comfort zone and can even improve your well-being.

You may not immediately connect your vacation with health benefits, but experts say you should. That upcoming trip is actually good for your overall longevity ― including your cognitive and mental health.

Here’s how taking a trip can improve your brain, according to science:

“I think that one of the fastest ways to improve your mood and get yourself out of a funk is to get out of your regular routine ― and traveling is one of the ways to do that,” said Brighid Gannon, the co-founder of Lavender Psychiatry, an online psychiatry and therapy practice.

While big trips to foreign countries certainly break up your daily monotony, even a getaway to a location a short drive away forces you to try new things. Traveling can also open your perspective to different cultures and different ways of living, which is another boon.

“Anytime we have a more outward, open perspective I think that our mood instantly improves,” Gannon added.

There are lots and lots of memes about the increase in walking that tends to happen on vacation, as daily step count averages jump from 4,000 at home to 20,000 while exploring a European city. And this increase in physical activity doesn’t only benefit your heart, but it is good for your brain, too.

Physical activity helps stimulate the growth of brain cells and strengthens connections within the brain, explained Emily Rogalski, a professor of neurology at the University of Chicago. New brain cells can benefit areas such as your memory and your ability to learn as you age.

Regular physical activity is also known to decrease your chance of developing dementia, and while exercise during a trip may not be regular physical activity, it can serve as a jumping off point to get there.

Our brains thrive on newness and being challenged, much like how our muscles grow when we push to do tougher fitness routines, Rogalski said.

Changing environments can also lower your risk for poor brain health conditions, explained Dr. Augusto Miravalle, a neurologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. A 2023 Chinese study found that older people who travel have a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia. “And it was a dose effect, so the more they travel, the lower that risk became,” Miravalle said.

Traveling “forces us to learn new things, navigate new environments and understand new routines that perhaps we are not accustomed to,” he explained.

Education is known to be protective against the development of dementia. While education in early life is the factor that’s been studied more widely, “It is possible to think that the more we learn, the more we reduce that dementia risk throughout life,” Miravalle said.

Learning and vacation often go hand-in-hand, whether you realize it or not. For instance, you may challenge yourself to learn a few words in a new language or find that you need to learn how to navigate a public transit system in a new city.

A 2020 meta-analysis found that being bilingual can push back the start of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms by roughly five years.

Remote work and an always-on culture has made it common for people to check their email well after 5 p.m. or reply to Slack messages hours before their work day technically starts. It can be hard to break this pattern at home, which is where a vacation can help.

Since internet service isn’t always guaranteed and there’s often a time difference, traveling is a natural way to take a break from work, Gannon said. “It’s a really nice way to have a digital detox, which we all need,” she added.

Booking that girl’s trip to the Bahamas or a Canadian ski trip with your family likely brings some much-needed bonding time with loved ones.

“Travel can also really help people reconnect with what is actually important in life, like our relationships … which we can sometimes forget when we’re in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day,” Gannon said.

Plus, it’s well established that social connections are important for our well-being; people who nurture social relationships are more likely to be happy. And beyond emotional health, that trip can be important for your brain health as well.

Research shows that social isolation and loneliness hurts our cognitive function. In fact, infrequent social contact is one of the 12 modifiable dementia risk factors. By being more social, you can lower your risk of developing the disease ― and a trip with your friends or family can be one way to reduce feelings of loneliness.

So, if you’re looking for an excuse to book a vacation, there you have it. Travel can help you stay sharp, foster necessary social connections and challenge your brain to be its best.