Road trips involve driving for a lengthy period to reach a vacation destination (or several). During a successful road trip, travellers will usually be just as excited about the journey as they are about the destination, if not more so.

Road trips can allow you to see new sights, try new foods, and bond with any passengers you may bring along. There are also some benefits to road trips that most people don’t often think about, such as boosting your mental health. How can something as simple as a drive or a road trip help your mental health?

Distractions

If you’re going through a stressful or distressing period of your life for any reason, distractions are a great way to heal your mind and keep it from focusing on pain or grief. On a road trip, you pay attention to the road, your passengers, beautiful scenery, and fun destinations.

Distressing events or painful memories will head to the back burner of your mind while you’re on the open road. Vacations, road trips, or lengthy scenic drives are great distractions from daily life or stress.

Distance

When you physically leave behind a painful breakup or financial problems on a road trip, you can mentally leave them behind, too. You’re usually putting a large distance between yourself and your issues. Distance and new scenery can often put a fresh perspective on your troubles.

Music Or Audiobooks

Many songs and musical artists explore tough subjects like heartbreak, loss, pain, and anger. Most people love driving or road trips for the music alone. You can explore new artists or listen to familiar favourites while driving. Listening to songs about the troubles you’re going through can be cathartic—have you ever found solace in listening to a breakup song after a relationship ends?

You can listen to music on a road trip as loud or as much as you’d like to help work through feelings. If you’re not going through anything particularly tough, listening to music is fun and lets you relax and enjoy the trip more. Audiobooks on a road trip can also provide soothing enrichment and stimulation.

Increased Social Bonds

If you bring friends or family on a road trip, you’ll enjoy the same experiences and destinations together. While keeping tight quarters with people can be conflicting sometimes, you can practice conflict resolution and peacekeeping techniques to increase your bonds. Humans are social animals at their core, and social interaction can improve mood, relieve stress, and increase cognitive function. If you’re travelling alone, you’ll likely run into a few people on the road when stopping for gas, snacks, or sleep. Meeting new people is also great practice for your social skills and mental health. You may even make some new friends!

Improved Focus 

When driving, you must pay attention to other drivers and road laws. You’ll also have to worry about navigating. Driving is a simple way to practice focus and improve cognitive function. Strong cognitive skills can help you perform daily activities and tasks easier, especially as you age. Essentially, you’re flexing your brain muscles, which is important for mental and physical health.

If you’re apprehensive about driving, you can also practice safe driving skills and work on your anxiety or driving fears. It’s important to keep yourself safe during any driving or road trip. Be mindful of traffic laws, dangerous roads, or aggressive drivers. If your road trip ends early due to the negligence of other drivers, you should always consider obtaining a lawyer with experience in accidents like Mitch Grissim & Associates.

Fresh Air

You will likely see many natural environments on the road, such as beaches, forests, or mountains. Getting some fresh air is great for your physical and mental health. Clean, outdoor air can help clear your lungs and reduce inflammation. It also increases oxygen levels in your brain, providing extra doses of feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin. Natural light from the sun in healthy doses can also offer these benefits.

New Environments

Sometimes, removing yourself from a stressful situation or harmful environment is just the medication your mental health needs. If you’re not feeling particularly stressed, a road trip will allow you a change of pace and scenery that can enrich and stimulate your mind. New places, people, and scenery can relieve stress by increasing serotonin and dopamine. Even if you’re only driving by a beautiful waterfront view or a towering mountain, the awe of natural scenery will often provide calming and mood-boosting effects.

Creativity

You’ll often be confronted with awe-inspiring scenery, new experiences, and small challenges to overcome on your road trip. These experiences can add wonder and creativity to your life, allowing you to approach problems, relationships, and job tasks with a fresh perspective. If you work in the creative field, like art or writing, you may be inspired by the sights around you.