Travel Is Self-Care: 7 Research-Backed Mental Health Benefits of Taking a Trip

Research backs the mental and physical health benefits of travel

Each May, Mental Health Awareness Month reminds us to take stock of our emotional wellbeing—and to actively prioritize it. As someone with a master’s degree in social psychology and more than 20 years in high-pressure corporate jobs, I know firsthand how easy it is to push past the warning signs of burnout until something forces a pause.

For me, that pause often came in the form of travel.

Stepping away from my day-to-day demands didn’t just help me rest. It helped me reset. Whether it was a long solo weekend or a faraway escape with my husband, travel offered the space to reflect, reconnect, and rediscover who I was outside of the emails, deadlines, and dinner routines.

And I’m not alone. Science continues to reveal that the mental health benefits of travel go far beyond a break from work. In fact, travel can improve emotional regulation, spark creativity, strengthen relationships, and even enhance your physical health—all of which support long-term psychological wellbeing.

Let’s take a closer look at the research-backed benefits of taking that trip.

Travel reduces stress and recharges your brain

1. Travel Reduces Stress and Recharges Your Brain

Let’s start with the obvious—but essential—point: travel reduces stress.

Studies have shown that vacations lower cortisol (your body’s primary stress hormone) and improve overall mood and energy levels. Even a short break can lead to a significant drop in perceived stress and symptoms of depression.

A 2005 study published in Psychosomatic Medicine found that women who vacationed at least twice a year were significantly less likely to experience depression and chronic stress than those who took vacations less than once every two years (source).

For me, some of my most profound moments of release have happened during travel—not at a spa, but while sipping coffee in a quiet square or walking solo through unfamiliar streets. It’s in these unstructured pauses that my nervous system finally exhaled.

Travel actually helps spark creativity and reset your brain

2. New Environments Spark Creativity and Neuroplasticity

When we explore new places, our brains get a workout.

Research in neuroscience suggests that novel experiences activate the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine and encouraging neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to form new neural pathways. This isn’t just fascinating; it’s incredibly useful for mental health. Novelty helps us think more flexibly, solve problems creatively, and reframe unhelpful mental patterns.

Even the anticipation of an upcoming trip can boost your mood. One study published in Applied Research in Quality of Life found that simply having a vacation on the calendar can increase happiness for weeks before departure (source).

I’ve often returned from trips not only feeling refreshed but bursting with new ideas—sometimes for my business, sometimes for my life. There’s something about the mental shift of being in a new place that shakes things loose in a way no spreadsheet ever could.

Travel can help you reconnect with yourself

3. Travel Offers Perspective—and Space to Reconnect With Yourself

Travel introduces “psychological distance”—a term psychologists use to describe the ability to view your thoughts and emotions from a broader perspective. Getting out of your normal context, even temporarily, helps you see what’s working (and what’s not) in your life.

Solo travel, in particular, has been a catalyst for this kind of clarity in my own life. Away from the noise of responsibility, I’ve had honest conversations with myself I didn’t even know I needed. What do I want next? What am I holding onto that I could let go?

These kinds of questions don’t often surface in the carpool lane.

Travel can help strengthen relationships

4. Shared Travel Builds Connection and Strengthens Relationships

Whether you're traveling solo, with a partner, or as a family, the social benefits of travel are profound.

When my husband and I travel, we’re not just escaping the routine—we’re creating memories. We’ve laughed in broken Italian trying to order dinner, marveled at sunsets in silence, and learned to make pasta in Tuscany (which we still recreate at home when we need to remember what it felt like to be carefree). Travel helps us reconnect—not just in the moment, but for months and even years after.

Science supports this: shared experiences trigger oxytocin (the “bonding hormone”) and strengthen emotional intimacy. Research has shown that couples who travel together report higher levels of satisfaction, communication, and relationship strength.

Travel can build confidence and resilience

5. Travel Builds Confidence and Resilience

Navigating new places—figuring out public transit in a foreign language, managing flight delays, trying unfamiliar foods—may not sound relaxing, but these small challenges build psychological resilience.

You’re proving to yourself that you can handle uncertainty, adapt, and keep going even when the path isn’t obvious. This kind of mastery builds self-efficacy, a key trait associated with lower anxiety and better long-term mental health outcomes.

All that walking you do when you travel? It's good for you, too

6. Travel Benefits More Than Mental Health, But Physical Wellness, Too

Mental and physical health are deeply connected—and travel supports both.

Just walking through cities (if you've ever been to Europe you, exploring landmarks, or hiking nature trails increases your physical activity. It always amazes me how I always end up walking over 20,000 steps a day on vacation! Turns out, several studies have found that vacationers are more likely to move more and sit less. This activity boosts mood and supports cardiovascular health.

In fact, the Framingham Heart Study found that men who didn’t take vacations were 30% more likely to have a heart attack. And women who took less than one vacation every six years were nearly eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease or have a heart attack compared to those who vacationed at least twice a year (source).

Additionally, exposure to new environments and mild levels of unfamiliar microbes (think: being outside in different climates, eating local produce) may actually help strengthen your immune system by diversifying your body’s microbiome.

The memories you make return with you

7. The Mental Health Benefits of Travel Linger Long After You Return

One of the best parts of travel? The glow doesn’t fade immediately.

Travel offers “afterglow effects” that linger for weeks or even months. A vacation's positive impact on mood, sleep, and relationship satisfaction can extend long after you're back at your desk. In fact, studies suggest people feel happier, more connected, and more productive even a month after returning from a meaningful trip.

And when life gets stressful again (as it inevitably will), those travel memories—whether a photo on your desk or a meal recreated at home—can serve as touchstones of joy and connection.

Travel isn't selfish. It's self care backed by science

Prioritize Travel, Prioritize Your Wellbeing

Travel isn’t selfish. It’s self care back by science.

In a culture that often equates rest with laziness and glorifies being “booked and busy,” making time to travel is a radical act of self-care. It’s also one of the most effective ways to support your emotional, physical, and relational wellbeing.

Whether you're seeking clarity, rest, reconnection, or simply a change of pace, travel can offer it—and more. And if planning that trip feels overwhelming, that’s exactly where a travel advisor (like me) can help make it easy.

You deserve a trip that feels like medicine for the soul.

Ready to plan a trip that restores your mind and spirit? Let’s create something intentional together. Schedule a free consultation or send me a message to get started.