The Surprising Health Benefits of Road Trips
At a time of soaring oil prices, hitting the road to travel across the continent sounds impractical. Aside from gas funds, you also have to think about emergency funds, like for auto repair and glass replacement in case of an accident.
Considering all these, going on a trip, especially in nature, is an investment worth making. From improved memory to better stress management, get to know its benefits:
Improve your memory
Have you heard about biophilia? If not, it is our innate attraction to nature that makes us want to connect with natural surroundings. It is also explains the health benefits of being in nature, and why we feel good during and after the experience.
Its benefits are not limited to our feelings — biophilia can improve our memory, as well. In 2013, students at the University of Michigan were subjected to a memory test before being divided into two groups. Both groups were made to take a walk on two different environments and within the same timeframe. One took a walk down a city street, and the other in an arboretum (a botanical garden that mainly grows trees). All students took the test again upon their return, and the arboretum group did almost 20% better. Meanwhile, the city group had no significant improvement.
Now, that was only a short walk among trees. Driving through nature for even longer may have the same benefits, if not more.
Lessen the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory disease
The city is stuffed with pollutants. From industrial facilities to roads, several factors leave the air unclean and unsafe. Air pollution can cause a lot of health problems, including heart and lung diseases, like asthma, emphysema, bronchitis and cancer.
If you take a road trip regularly and for long periods of time, you will be breathing fresh air far from the city and these pollutants. Fresh air can help the lungs heal, boost your immune system, and improve serotonin production.
Allow the sun to heal you
Even in the mornings and high noons, city streets are shrouded in the shadows of buildings and skyscrapers, effectively blocking the sunlight. A healthy amount of exposure to sunlight is found to increase vitamin D and serotonin levels in the body.
Although we all know that overexposure can contribute to skin cancer, sunlight also helps prevent several types of cancer, including colon cancer, prostate cancer, and pancreatic cancer. According to WHO, sunlight helps treat several skin conditions (including eczema, psoriasis, and acne).
Take a tech break
Most of us spend a good part of our days on our gadgets, which can be quite unhealthy. People who are heavy tech users are likely to experience a lot of stress and sleep disturbances, and display symptoms of depression. And in a Gallup poll conducted on April 2015, people who often use their work email after work said they felt more stress on a daily basis than those who do not. But “unplugging” can be difficult at home.
Avoiding screens may prove easier on a road trip, because your eyes should be glued to the road. Even when you are not driving, the new sights might be too good to pass up in favor of your phone.
As the Dalai Lama said, “once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” Road trips are not only a feast for the eyes — the rest of your body will also thank you for the experience.