5 Reasons Travel Should Be Prescribed By Your Doctor
I honestly believe, it’s not a coincidence that my son and I both went away on our 2 week Easter Vacation with a cold, and came home as healthy as ever. Travel is good for your mind, your body and your soul. It awakens in all of us an adventurer’s spirit and a go-getter attitude. Here are my top 5 reasons why traveling should be prescribed by your doctor next time you feel under the weather, or simply are not performing at your optimal, happiest self.
Variation in Diet
Unless you are one of those people who orders a hamburger and fries no matter what part of the world you find yourself in, when you travel you will inevitably have a change in your routine diet. You won’t find jars of Skippy lining groceries stores in Spain, or flavored creamer for your coffees in Thailand. Shaking it up is always a good thing, but especially when it comes to our diet. Variation will provide the greatest range of nutrients to fuel our bodies. The challenge to our norm will also introduce new foods which we can continue to incorporate at home!
Exercise in Disguise
Pounding the pavement in an attempt to see every cathedral, museum, and art gallery in a new city, does in fact count as exercise. Likewise, exploring every hiking trail in a small Swiss Valley, will burn more than a few calories. The best part about this adventurer’s form of exercise? You had no idea you were even doing it, you were too busy enjoying yourself. I am all about exercise which is fun!
Gathering and Consolidating of Allies
If you are travelling with friends, boyfriend, or your spouse, you will have the opportunity to spend uninterrupted quality time together. And you will undoubtedly strengthen your bond by experiencing new and thrilling adventures with each other. If you are brave enough to challenge the soul to some solo travelling, you will be overcome with how much easier it is to interact with other travellers! In few situations are people more gregarious than when on the road!
Stress Meter Restart
The value of taking a step back from the pressures of everyday life, and truly letting yourself unwind, has no price tag, but conveniently the cost of a vacation will provide it! Even the strongest of individuals will feel the stressors in life build-up and wear them thin over time. Life is too short to live with this burden. Escape, restart, and recharge.
Changing Perspectives on Priorities in Life
While you are away, it’s the perfect time to take stock of where you are in life. What are your priorities? How do you spend your time between all the different aspects of your life? Do you feel balanced? Do you feel happy? Are you stuck in a cycle of working towards the next goal, miserable in the now, only hoping to be happy later on? Lay on the beach sipping your cocktail or hike through the wooded track, and take these questions and their answers with you. Then when you insert yourself back into your life, you can make changes if need be.
Eating a nutritious varied diet, exercising regularly, and investing in our relationships and in ourselves, all lead to a healthy, happier, and more fulfilling life. So why aren’t we taking a vacation more often?
