Whether you go with nothing but a backpack or book a deluxe hotel, all travel experiences have a positive impact on your health and provide a big endorphin boost. For some people, the delight it offers can even overshadow other significant life milestones such as marriage or having a kid. And, according to a study conducted by Booking.com, people place such a high value on travel that it ranks first among the things that offer them the greatest joy in life!
Traveling boosts your happiness right away.
Booking.com conducted interviews with 17,000 people from 17 different countries in order to obtain a more broad perspective on travel. When it comes to happiness, respondents agreed that few things can compare to going on vacation. For example, 77 percent of people stated they arrange a vacation when they need to instantly lift their spirits.
Traveling can provide you greater joy than other significant life events.
The most surprising aspect of this research is that participants stated that they value travel far more than their significant other or even good moments in their lives. When it came to planning and going on vacations, 49% of respondents stated they were happier than when it came to their wedding day!
Almost half of those polled said that going on a date with their partner doesn’t provide them the same emotional lift as travelling. 45 percent said becoming engaged didn’t provide them with the same emotional lift as travelling. Even having a baby doesn’t deliver enough of an endorphin high for 29% of respondents!
Buying items isn’t going to bring you any joy.
It was also discovered that people value new experiences over having a lot of material possessions. Seventy percent of respondents responded that going on vacation gives them a sense of fulfilment that lasts much longer than buying stuff.
People appear to be willing to forego their comfort in exchange for fresh travel experiences. For example, 56 percent of respondents would prefer to go on vacation rather than buy new clothes or gadgets, and 48 percent are willing to put off house upgrades in order to go to new destinations.
Even the prospect of a trip boosts our emotional health.
Surprisingly, for 72 percent of respondents, merely starting to plan a holiday is enough to make them happy. For example, 80% of people are more enthused when they simply look at a map and select destinations they want to visit.
When people read hotel reviews and picture their future travels, 6 out of 10 respondents experience an emotional boost. Nothing, however, can beat shopping: more than half of those polled said that buying clothes for a vacation was one of the best ways to improve their spirits!
Can you connect to the study’s findings? Have you ever experienced a trip that changed your life? Tell us about your experiences in the comments!
Preview photo credit mileycyrus / Instagram
