Travel and Its Health Benefits

I’m working from Miami this week. I was prompted to look into how travel affects health.

This past week, I had the privilege to visit Los Angeles and Miami, all while working remotely. It’s done wonders for my mental health.

Good Afternoon!

Today’s newsletter is coming from Belle Isle in Miami, Florida, just 10 minutes from Miami Beach. It’s the final day of a week long trip that started last Friday in Los Angeles to visit my friend Luciano at his new space.

Living in New York City for the past decade has been one of the most rewarding decisions ever. But even the constant newness of New York gets old, and I often feel (especially during the summer months) that I need an escape.

So I decided to continue to coach clients remotely for the week while on the road, and it’s definitely given me a new perspective on what a change of scenery can mean for mental health. I was prompted by this discovery to look into exactly what changing your “office” can do for your health.

The monotony of a repetitive routine that includes a commute, work, cooking dinner, and doing the same-old things can be somewhat detrimental to mental health. Breaking that cycle with a trip — even a short one — can reduce stress levels and help well-being.

What’s more; this concept is far from new. There exists an entire subreddit of over 2 million users who detail their lives of remote work living in extravagant places and being nomads. I certainly envy these people and try not to read too many threads to prevent myself from skipping town.

Where You Travel To Can Make A Huge Difference

For anyone who is sedentary in their job, an opportunity to travel is also an opportunity to move more. When looking to break the above cycle, it might serve you better to think of an active vacation idea — something involving exploring, hiking, swimming, biking, walking or all of the above.

It’s also very common for traveling to illuminate what’s wrong or just needs sprucing up in your current routine. This study of 270 participants shows that there was a net increase in overall creativity upon returning from vacations or trips.

Along with the increased activity that comes from exploring a new territory, certain areas of the world (if you’re traveling internationally, that is) can offer better health benefits that we might not have available to us otherwise.

From hiking up majestic mountains to strolling along picturesque beaches, traveling presents us with endless opportunities to engage in physical activities that enhance our fitness levels.

Studies have shown that spending time in nature not only reduces stress but also improves our cardiovascular health and boosts our immune system.

It’s for these reasons I think it’s worth scheduling travel to areas where you’re predisposed to exploring the environment, especially if it’s remote and less industrial.

D R M O L L Y . C O

D R M O L L Y . C O on Instagram: “Before Europe I felt a bit inflamed. After Europe, 4lb lighter, slightly more tan, and far more calm internally. The biggest difference was the environment. America has become toxic — the food, air, water, and media are filling us with garbage that impairs mitochondrial function. Mitochondria are the power plants, general contractors, epigenetic regulators, and information processors of the cells. When 88% of the country is metabolically unhealthy this reduces power output, challenges the body’s capacity to regulate immunity properly, creates excess inflammation, produces excess oxidative stress, and affects the way information is processed creating internal entropy. Life feeds on negative entropy. Is it so hard to really understand why people here feel so sick, so tired, so inflamed, so reactive, and so unbalanced? If you can afford it, take a trip to Europe sometime and really feel the difference between cultures and realize that we have created the conditions we are in. The United States prioritizes driving over biking, processed versus real food, negative over positive media, isolation instead of connection. We need a revolution towards health & love.
#reflection #environment #change”

May 14, 2023

The above post from Dr. Molly Maloof highlights this. Europe, a continent that prioritizes exercises in the day-to-day lives of its inhabitants, could be a place you travel to for indulgence and still come back healthier than before you left.

The U.S. has developed a tendency to over-process its food, pollute the air, and create an environment where constant attention to technology instead of the real world around us is hurting us at a cellular level.

Areas of the world that are less industrialized and more emphatically pronounced in their approach to human wellness — like Spain and their siestas, or Japan’s multi-faceted waste disposal system — could have a positive benefit on your overall health should you stay there for an extended time.

Don’t Overthink It— But Definitely Think About It

It might be a bit of a radical idea, but travel can be a form of self-care when properly planned.

It allows for exposure to new cultures, new people, new ways of thinking and the potential for new perspectives like I mentioned above.