Aaron Chy, BSc General, PharmD Student
Same Routine, Different Day
You know the routine: wake up, go to work, go home, go to sleep. Repeat over and over ad infinitum. It’s an endless cycle; when you’re at work, you want to go home. When you’re home, you’re too tired to do anything. Sound familiar?
When working to live becomes living to work, it’s time to make a change. Travelling to different places can be incredibly fulfilling; the people, the cultures, the food, and the memories you make are a lifetime experience. But besides that, a number of health benefits, both mental and physical, have been linked to travelling.1-4
- Greater job satisfaction
We’ve all been there before; that dreaded feeling of going to work at the start of a new week. Or how about when it feels like your days-off go just by in a flash, and you don’t feel rested at all? Occupational burnout occurs when we’re just too overwhelmed with everything we have to do. Our productivity goes down, our mood turns sour, and our overall satisfaction level hits a low. On the other hand, vacationing has been found to reverse the psychological and emotional strain caused by job stress. Individuals who take vacations often report better job satisfaction and are less likely to use sick-days as a way of avoiding their job.
- Improved creativity
Ever hear the saying “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?” Well, all work and no play makes for a dull and uncreative mind, too. It gets tough to come up with new and innovative ideas when you go through the same routines day after day. Fortunately, travelling can undo all that. Research suggests that going abroad and experiencing new cultures improves mental creativity and the ability to adapt to challenges. More specifically, improvements have been seen in problem-solving, awareness of underlying connections and associations, and flexibility of ideas.
- Better mood, and a more positive personality
We’re certainly not ourselves when we’ve been overworked. And at the worst of times, it can be tough to remember a time when we could truly be ourselves, carefree and away from our daily responsibilities. It’s definitely good to make an escape every so often; visiting and staying in unknown locations has been linked to the development of personality traits like Openness and Agreeableness. Conversely, travelling has been shown to reduce Neuroticism – the tendency to overthink life.
- Reduced Mortality
Still not convinced it’s time to take a vacation? A study that followed over ten thousand people found that those who took annual vacations had reduced rates of heart disease and death compared to those who did not.
What’s the takeaway here? Travel a lot, live longer, travel more.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, it can be all too easy to get wrapped up in our work and responsibilities. When that happens, it’s important to remember that while jobs and deadlines do exist, work is only temporary, while cherished memories are forever. Every once in a while, take the opportunity to step out, do something different, and embrace the moment.
As always, we hope you took away something valuable from this piece. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this article or others, feel free to reach out to us on Instagram, Facebook, or at ask@orbishealth.ca with your feedback. We’d love to hear from you.
RESOURCES
- Westman, M., & Etzion, D. (2001). The impact of vacation and job stress on burnout and absenteeism. Psychology & Health, 16(5), 595-606.
- Maddux, W. W., & Galinsky, A. D. (n.d). When in Rome … Learn Why the Romans Do What They Do: How Multicultural Learning Experiences Facilitate Creativity. Personality And Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(6), 731-741.
- Julia, Z., & Franz J., N. (2013). Do We Become a Different Person When Hitting the Road? Personality Development of Sojourners. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, (3), 515. doi:10.1037/a0033019
- Chen, C., & Petrick, J. F. (n.d). Health and Wellness Benefits of Travel Experiences: A Literature Review. Journal Of Travel Research, 52(6), 709-719.
