Travel for Mental Health: Benefits to Bring Home
Travel offers mental health benefits that last long after you return, providing you with space to tap into spontaneity, fun, adventure, relaxation, and connection.
When you’re a high performer or wear all the hats (we see you!), it can feel like your most valuable resource is your time. However, what really matters is your capacity. In other words, you can get a lot more done with a few hours operating at full capacity than you might with more time but pouring from an empty cup.
Sometimes travel can feel like it would interrupt your flow and what you need to get done, but the way it boosts capacity might make it a great way to reset and come back stronger. More capacity feels like staying clear-headed under pressure, rebounding from stress faster, and remaining connected to what actually matters in your life.
Let’s talk about what it could be like to view travel as a strategic way to step away and restore, whether that’s a day trip or a week-long vacation, and how to make your time out of office intentional, restorative, and nourishing in the way you need most.
Is travel good for your mental health?
Travel can be a great boost to your mental health, especially when you approach it with the intention to soak in all the benefits. Research consistently shows that stepping out of your routine and into a new setting can significantly lower stress, improve mood, and even enhance cognitive flexibility.
A recent survey of 2,000 Americans found that the average American feels 67% better mentally after going on a trip.
When you switch up your environment, it disrupts your routines, which can sometimes feel scary but can be a great opportunity to shift some common stress triggers that quietly drain your bandwidth and energy.
For example:
Your body immediately tenses at the sound of your alarm, not just because it’s early — but because that sound now signals “go time,” deadlines, and a packed schedule.
You walk into your kitchen and instinctively open your laptop, so your body is already preparing for multitasking or incoming Slack messages.
Your mind is racing, driving your same route home, and without realizing it, your nervous system starts bracing for family needs, unfinished tasks, or the emotional labor waiting at home.
That’s why even short getaways or weekends where you put everything else on pause can serve as a nervous system reset, shifting you out of survival mode and back into a more grounded, present state.
And if you're a parent, that reset can still be possible even when travel brings its own challenges. Sleep might be harder and kids might be out of sorts, overstimulated, or off their routines, but there are also meaningful tradeoffs like being out of office, letting go of some daily pressures, shifting your scenery, and making space for shared moments that are harder to come by at home.
It may not be restful in the traditional sense, but it can still be restorative in different and valuable ways, helping you reconnect with yourself and your people outside of the usual grind.
Benefits of switching up your state of mind by going somewhere else
Of course, there’s no way to predict what some time away would feel like for you, but a view into some results busy professionals may notice include:
Lowered cortisol levels
Improved sleep quality
Overall physical health improvements
Increased dopamine and serotonin
Greater emotional resilience
Boosted creativity and problem-solving abilities
If you can relate to never taking a moment to truly unplug, these aren’t just perks; they’re protective factors against burnout and emotional exhaustion.
Another helpful resource:Preventing Burnout: Symptoms That Might Ask You to Slow Down
But, what if I can’t take a vacation right now?
If your first thought reading all this is “must be nice…” we want to be sure you’re seen. It’s SO valid to feel like a trip isn’t a reality in the way you’d like it to be because of time, money, or any other boundaries that come with being a human in this whirlwind life.
That doesn’t mean you can’t experience these mental health benefits of stepping away from the daily autopilot, however, and it’s important to take some time to talk about that before we continue into the detailed benefits you’ll feel.
Whether you’re juggling multiple jobs, navigating a workplace with little support, or you're a caregiver whose responsibilities don’t pause just because you need a break, these ideas are for you because your need for rest isn’t any less valid.
Bringing the benefits of travel into your everyday life
The beauty of travel isn’t always about the destination, and maybe it’s just about the shift or gentle nudge to switch things up and get a bit spontaneous. These ideas aren’t about dropping everything, but instead taking whatever time you feel comfortable with to experience some space, and permission to be a bit more flexible, in flow, and ideally unreachable even for pockets of time. It could be new places, new people, new cultures, new things, and new environments.
Here are a few ways to tap into the same nervous system reset without needing time off:
Claim your weekends like they matter: Block off half a Saturday or even a few hours on Sunday for something that is completely separated from productivity. Yes, y’all, that means no errands, no to-do list, and no making lists of what you’ll do when the pause is over. Let’s try to think of something that feels nourishing or even aimless and accessible right where you are, such as a long walk without your phone, a morning in the park instead of your usual spot, or a drive with a vacation-vibe playlist.
Try a commute substitute: If you work from home or don’t get a natural transition between work and personal time, you can create one with a small change. Maybe you drive to a coffee shop and back before you log in to signal the start of your day or walk around the block before you check your phone. This can help your body shift gears and avoid things blurring together.
Change your scenery on purpose: Maybe you rearrange your workspace, work in a conference room or other area of the office, or move your work from a home office to a local coffee shop. You could also take a walking meeting or eat lunch outside to create that small sense of novelty that jolts your brain out of autopilot and makes space for new thoughts and emotions.
Set “vacation boundaries” for a day or an evening: If you can’t take time off, you might be able to protect some time that are not your designated working hours such as an evening a week where your out-of-office reply goes up, or a protected weekend day that way people know not to expect an answer from you and you don’t have to feel guilt to check in until the following day. (Ideally, both weekend days, but we get it!)
How travel reduces stress and resets your nervous system
Let’s get even more specific. How does travel reduce stress?
Travel interrupts your stress response cycle
Chronic stress keeps your sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight mode) activated. Travel to new, calming, or inspiring environments (even for the day) shifts your body into parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) mode, promoting relaxation and repair.
For example:
You sit down for a slow lunch at a café in a new town and realize it’s the first time in weeks you’ve eaten without checking your email. You notice your shoulders drop, your breathing slows, and you’re not rushing. That moment of peace reminds your body what rest feels like and it makes it easier to notice how often you’ve been eating lunch while standing at your counter or working through every meal.
Travel engages your senses
New sights, sounds, tastes, and textures pull you out of your head and into your body. This sensory novelty helps anchor you in the present, quieting overthinking and stress rumination. It also helps you start to feel a sense of rest that you might naturally want to keep around in small ways as you get back into your routine.
For example:
You’re walking through a weekend farmer’s market, and there’s live music in the background, fresh citrus in the air, and a croissant flaking onto your fingers. For once, your brain isn’t on loop about your inbox. You’re just here, and engaging your senses like this can help you stay present, and it gives you a template for recreating that grounded feeling even once you’re back home.
Travel increases exposure to positive emotions
Pleasure, awe, excitement, and curiosity are emotions that travel can ignite, and they happen to naturally boost mood-regulating chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, which buffer against anxiety and depression. It’s a small way to get out of your mind and into your body without having to carve out time for a meditation or trying to manage stress when you’re stuck in the middle of it all.
For example:
You stumble into a local bookstore on your trip and find a book that sparks your interest in a way you haven’t felt in ages. Or you laugh (like total cackling) over something small and silly with a friend on a road trip. These moments release dopamine and serotonin, which buffer against anxiety and help you remember what it's like to feel alive, not just functional.
Travel offers psychological distance from your daily life
Physical space creates mental space, so it makes sense that getting away from your routines, roles, and responsibilities allows you to view your life with a fresh perspective and can usually reveal what matters and what doesn’t.
For example:
You’re sipping coffee on a balcony or watching the waves or even just lying in a quiet Airbnb, and your mind starts to untangle. Things you’ve been obsessing over suddenly seem less important. Maybe you remember how much you value slow mornings or creative time. Travel doesn’t fix everything, but it does create space to hear yourself think.
Bonus: How to Prepare for a Trip Without Burning Yourself Out
It’s super common to see high performers or anyone tackling a lot of responsibility feel guilt about leaving it behind for their trip, which can lead to overcompensating by taking on too much in the days leading up. If you’ve ever felt like “well, I’ll be on vacation anyway soon enough”, this is likely why. We can push ourselves to do more than usual, but what if you don’t have to?
It can be really helpful to ask yourself if this is an expectation you’re setting for yourself or something others truly expect from you. Most of the time, we’re taking on too much to counteract the discomfort of stopping to breathe while work carries on around you.
If you want your travel to truly support your mental health, how you prepare matters.
A few ideas for a mindful transition into your trip or time away
Check in with the belief that rest must be earned: You don’t have to prove your worth by running yourself into the ground before you go. Time off is not a reward for exhaustion, but a part of being human and embracing the fun and joy of this life beyond our responsibilities. What if you can schedule rest because your well-being matters, and you don’t need to cross some invisible productivity finish line to deserve it?
Build in breathing room: Protect the half-day before and after your trip, even if it feels indulgent. Give yourself time to wrap things up with care, tend to last-minute packing or planning, and ease back in without a jarring snap to urgency. You don’t need to go from inbox zero to the airport gate in the same hour.
Create a closing ritual: Rather than sprinting to the finish line, try this:
List what truly must be done before you leave.
Name what can wait, and consciously release what doesn’t need your energy at all.
Set your out-of-office with clarity and kindness to others and to yourself.
Try to place your trust in those around you who you’re always supporting, to pick up and help you out in this time of rest.
Redefine what “success” looks like: Instead of measuring your pre-trip success by how much you crossed off your list, try asking:
Did I make space to leave with intention (example: I want to feel free from obligations, or I want to be present with my family and take away distractions)?
Can I step away without carrying guilt in my carry-on?
What do I want to feel walking into this rest period?
How to actually enjoy your time away
Dropping out of high-gear productivity mode isn’t easy, especially when you’re used to multitasking, managing others’ needs, or scanning for what could go wrong. But your brain needs unstructured, sensory-rich, pleasurable experiences to fully reset.
Ideas to drop into the moment and embrace the pause:
Set digital boundaries before you go: Will you check email? How often? Who’s your emergency contact?
Plan less than you think you should: Leave room for naps, aimless walks, and unexpected discoveries. A full itinerary can remind you of that overwhelm from home.
Avoid productivity travel: If your itinerary reads like a work project plan, ask yourself: What am I chasing? Does this help me truly interrupt my patterns?
Engage your senses intentionally: Eat something unfamiliar, watch a sunset without a camera, listen to street sounds, and soak up those sensory experiences to help your nervous system reset.
Use a simple reflection ritual: Each evening, note one thing that surprised, delighted, or relaxed you. Maybe you journal, sketch, or just think about it while doing your evening rituals.
FAQ: Quick Answers for High-Performing Travelers
Is vacation good for mental health?
Yes, vacation can be a great way to support mental health. It has the potential to lower stress, improve mood, strengthen resilience, and offer necessary psychological distance.
How often should you take a vacation?
While we’d love to say multiple times a year, the reality is that this is a moment to check in with yourself on what’s realistic, what’s happening in your life that year, and what would feel like you can truly step away. Remember, a vacation can be a day off to explore your city like a tourist without breaking the bank.
Is traveling alone good for mental health?
Many people find solo travel to be a spiritual experience, or a way to reconnect to themselves again which can be amazing for mental health. It enhances self-awareness, fosters independence, and removes external expectations.
What are the psychological benefits of travel?
We love thinking about the mind-body connection of it all. Travel can potentially lower cortisol, improve mood, enhance creativity, better sleep, increase cognitive flexibility, and strengthen emotional resilience.
Final Thought: Travel as a mental health investment, not an escape or distraction
Maybe your capacity to lead, innovate, and stay grounded isn’t just about how hard you can push, but how skillfully you can pause. Whether it’s a nervous system reset vacation halfway across the world or a mindful afternoon in your own city, intentionally stepping away can improve your resilience, productivity, and sense of personal meaning far beyond the trip itself.
Plan it, savor it, and let it recalibrate what matters most to you.
