Latest / Talking FACS / The Mental Health Benefits of Travel

Transcript

The Mental Health Benefits of Travel · Talking FACS

• 0:01
  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
• 0:04
  food, finance, and fitness.
• 0:08
  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
• 0:12
  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
• 0:15
  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
• 0:20
  and communities to improve quality of life.
• 0:24
  Hello, and welcome to Talking FACS, where we share information you can use
• 0:28
  to strengthen your family, your community, and our state.
• 0:33
  I'm your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
• 0:37
  with Family and Consumer Sciences.
• 0:39
  Travel boosts your mental health. And my guest today, Dr.
• 0:43
  Natese Dockery, is here to share with us how we can use travel to improve our
• 0:50
  mental health and our social connections.
• 0:53
  Dr. Dockery is our Assistant Clinical Professor for Mental Health and Well-being.
• 0:59
  Welcome, Natese. How are you?
• 1:01
  Thank you for having me. I am doing well. Doing well. Great.
• 1:05
  It is lovely, isn't it? And I know that you are well-versed in this topic because
• 1:11
  we traveled together recently.
• 1:13
  And so I know that this is a topic that is near and dear to your heart.
• 1:17
  And I think that will be something that will resonate with our listeners.
• 1:22
  So let's just kick it off. How does travel boost our well-being?
• 1:27
  Yeah, so there has been an increase in awareness around the importance of mental
• 1:32
  health. And travel can definitely play a role in improving our mental health.
• 1:36
  There has been an increase in things such as burnout, anxiety,
• 1:39
  depression, and we always feel like we have to be on.
• 1:41
  So how can travel help us? It helps us break up routine and kind of reduces
• 1:46
  that everyday monotony, everyday stress, really sparks our joy and boosts our mood.
• 1:51
  It expands our perspective and encourages things such as mindfulness and also
• 1:56
  strengthening our social bonds.
• 1:58
  I love how you mentioned that it gives us a change in perspective because sometimes
• 2:03
  when we change the scenery, it does give us an opportunity to look at things
• 2:07
  just a little bit differently.
• 2:09
  And maybe if we've had things weighing on our mind, then we can look at them with fresh eyes.
• 2:14
  So that change of scenery can really refresh our mind.
• 2:17
  It gives us kind of a temporary detachment from our daily responsibilities.
• 2:21
  And it also gives us a little bit better sleep and relaxation,
• 2:24
  which I know a lot of us can use, myself included.
• 2:27
  I know that planning a trip itself can be a little bit stressful for some of us.
• 2:32
  Oh my gosh, I agree. I love it when someone else plans a trip for me.
• 2:36
  But it can also generate some of that positive anticipation,
• 2:39
  some more of that good stress.
• 2:41
  Because as we know, there is good stress and there's bad stress. It's not all bad.
• 2:45
  I guess I just need to reframe how I think about the planning.
• 2:50
  Travel improves our mood. New experiences kind of trigger dopamine,
• 2:54
  which is that feel-good hormone.
• 2:56
  Nature exposure is linked to reduced anxiety.
• 3:00
  And then travel also kind of introduces us to new cultures, and that also can
• 3:07
  kind of increase our empathy and our all-around happiness in life.
• 3:11
  So, Natese, what are you finding in the research about travel?
• 3:14
  There is some science to kind of back this up as well.
• 3:17
  Travel can kind of activate our brain's reward system, it being new experiences,
• 3:22
  enhances our neuroplasticity, which that is just a fancy word for our brain's
• 3:26
  ability to kind of adapt and change its structure and its functions.
• 3:29
  And then travel is also linked to reduced cortisol, which is the stress hormone.
• 3:33
  So travel can reduce our stress and kind of increase our happiness and overall well-being.
• 3:41
  So before we started recording, you talked about options for mindful travel.
• 3:46
  Do you have some suggestions for different types of mindful travel?
• 3:50
  Yeah. Like I said, travel can be expensive and it can be stressful,
• 3:54
  but it doesn't have to be.
• 3:56
  We can do some simple things such as a local getaway, maybe a day trip.
• 4:00
  I know for me, being in Lexington, even if it's driving up to Louisville or
• 4:05
  going up the street to the Arboretum, that's a quick little trip for me that's
• 4:09
  pretty fun. doing nature hikes.
• 4:12
  We don't really have a beach here, but doing beach walks, solo trips for reflection,
• 4:16
  and then travel journaling.
• 4:19
  Now, there are a couple of tools that folks can find to use also to engage in
• 4:24
  some of that mindfulness that I mentioned earlier.
• 4:26
  And mindfulness is extremely beneficial for our mental health.
• 4:29
  It offers us several benefits, such as increased emotional regulation and just overall well-being.
• 4:35
  There are a couple of apps that I've used in the past Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer.
• 4:40
  Insight Timer is free and they have a lot of great guided meditations.
• 4:44
  There's also journaling apps or you could just use a notebook because I would
• 4:48
  like to challenge folks to do a little bit of a digital detox,
• 4:52
  especially with traveling.
• 4:53
  I know sometimes we like to get all of the photos, but it is also good to kind
• 4:57
  of unplug and recharge to really get the best out of our travel and,
• 5:02
  Natese, do you have any caveats to share? No, I will say there are a lot of
• 5:07
  benefits to travel, but it's not a fix-all.
• 5:10
  Sometimes, you know, we need that extra push from someone else.
• 5:14
  So travel can be fun and it can improve our mental health and our well-being, but it's not a fix-all.
• 5:19
  And there are a couple of other things to consider, such as budgeting and accessibility
• 5:23
  issues, which can also impact our mental health.
• 5:27
  But I won't talk about that today because that's not what we're talking about.
• 5:29
  So all in all, travel can boost our mood.
• 5:33
  It can relieve stress and really inspire growth.
• 5:35
  And it's good to just be intentional when it comes to traveling,
• 5:38
  even if it's short trips.
• 5:40
  You know, being mindful, noticing, oh, there's a new flower here.
• 5:43
  I don't see this flower at home. Maybe it's not a picture.
• 5:46
  Take in the beauty, things of that nature. Yeah, I think that's it.
• 5:49
  My children just took a trip and I got tickled at my granddaughter because she
• 5:54
  took all kinds of pictures.
• 5:56
  When she got home, she deleted all of her pictures. And her mom said, "Why did you do that?"
• 6:01
  And she said, "They're all in my mind. I don't need them on my camera."
• 6:05
  That's funny. That's funny. Yeah.
• 6:07
  Maybe we should take a lesson from a five-year-old, right? Yeah,
• 6:10
  that's a good point. Because I went to Chicago last week and I took it to,
• 6:14
  I have a ton of like, they have cool architecture. So I have like cool pictures
• 6:17
  of like the buildings and things. That part's fine.
• 6:20
  But then I looked at my camera roll and there's like pictures of food.
• 6:23
  I'm not, what am I going to do with that now? Sure, it was good in the moment,
• 6:26
  but I don't really, I can't taste it.
• 6:29
  That is true. That is true. Well, or you could send it to our foodie,
• 6:33
  Latoya Drake. She'll do something with that. So, right.
• 6:36
  Yeah. Well, Natese, thank you so much for your time this morning.
• 6:40
  I know that having the time to travel is a challenge for some people,
• 6:44
  but we can also take trips vicariously through those others who have.
• 6:48
  So having you on the show might inspire others to at least look around and see
• 6:55
  where they have opportunities to travel in their own backyard.
• 6:59
  If you are just tuning in, you're listening to Talking FACS,
• 7:02
  and we are available wherever you listen to your favorite podcast.
• 7:08
  Thank you for listening to Talking FACs. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
• 7:14
  health, resource management, family development, and civic engagement.
• 7:18
  If you enjoyed today's podcast, have a question, or a show topic idea,
• 7:23
  leave a like and a comment on Facebook at UKFCSEXT or send us an email at UKFCSEXT@UKY.edu.
• 7:34
  Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu to learn more about the University of Kentucky
• 7:41
  Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program or contact your local Extension
• 7:46
  agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
• 7:49
  We build strong families. We build Kentucky. It starts with us.
• 7:56
  Music.