Traveling is something that can get everyone excited. Who doesn’t like a sweet getaway to a distant place? After powering through a difficult semester, the waft of a new city can just take all the stressors away, leaving behind a new sense of self. With winter break behind us, let’s just take some time to appreciate the importance of the various places we may have ventured to.
Wellness Traveling
Yoga, meditation and mindful breathing are well-known as ways to improve mental health, but have you considered a trek through a forest as an equal alternative to this? There is a new trend on the rise called wellness traveling. It involves traveling in groups to a new place just for the mere multitude of benefits it has on the body. Let’s check them out!
Frequent travelers are less likely to experience bouts of depression and burnout.
After grinding through the tedious homework, navigating the endless powerpoints and graciously writing essays, it is important to treat yourself to a well-deserved trip. After all, this light at the end of the tunnel is what motivates students to keep driving. The best part is that coming back from a trip puts us in a better place mentally to focus and do better in class. However, this expedition does not have to involve an expensive flight ticket to some place like Hawaii. Rather, it can be as simple as a trip to a nearby town or a new location in your city.
Get out of your comfort zone and work your brain.
You can do something simple like explore different parts of a nearby city or plan a boating trip. Use your map and navigate your way around a new city. It’s a delightful way to expand your horizons and explore new places. Studies have shown that venturing to and traveling through an unfamiliar place can help the growth of neural connections in the brain.
It can help you get better sleep.
Going through the same monotonous routine everyday can become boring. Oftentimes, this begins to interfere with our quality of sleep. Through a quick trip outside the city, one can disrupt this schedule while still coming home to catch more z’s. On top of that, certain hotels support sleep tourism, which is the notion of incorporating sleep-inducing amenities like oil diffusers to enhance your quality of sleep during travels. After a long day of exploring the city, it is helpful to have access to tools that can facilitate your journey into dreamland for the night.
“We travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us.” – Robyn Yong
Happy Traveling!
Commentary writer Vidhi Parekh can be reached at [email protected].
If you would like to submit a reaction to a piece, Letter to the Editor or other submission, please send it to commentary editor Price Wilborn at [email protected] or [email protected].
