Travel Boosts the Brain! | Dr. Miller’s Memory Minute

Now that summer is here, many of us dream about travel. Along with the joy of vacation, learn how travel is beneficial for both our physical and mental health, including our cognitive functioning. Brain Wellness & Lifestyle Senior Director, Karen Miller, PhD, explains.

❋ Did You Know That Travel Boosts The Brain?

Not only is travel joyful, it stimulates creativity through exposure to new experiences. When we travel, we give our brains a full workout.

• New experiences stimulate visual scanning and spatial navigation skills, engaging the parietal lobes.
  
• Planning the details—like packing, getting to and from the airport or city, making reservations, and budgeting—utilizes executive functions in the frontal lobes.
  
• We create new memories and stories to share with friends and family, stimulating the temporal lobes responsible for memory and language.

Travel is also linked to stress reduction and increased happiness, reducing the risk of burnout from work, family duties, and the monotony of routine. It can improve social connections with those who travel with us and provide new topics to discuss with friends and family upon returning. Meeting new people and forming relationships with those from different backgrounds broadens our understanding of the world and enhances our social well-being, reducing loneliness and improving mood.

Whether it’s a local day trip, exploring a new part of the US, or traveling to a different country, try to make travel plans this summer and give your brain a boost!

❋ The Mental Wellbeing Challenge

Boost your innovative thinking and adaptability with these travel ideas!

Engage in problem-solving scenarios
– Make travel and tour reservations
– Navigate transportation and manage luggage
Plan novel daily activities
– Try new cuisines
– Enjoy art galleries, street fairs and markets
Socialize with fellow travelers and make new friends

❋ Worried About Memory Decline?

Learn solutions for your memory concerns with guidance from experts at the Brain Wellness & Lifestyle program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute®.

• Slow the progression of your condition through personalized nutrition plans, specific exercises, and mental activities.
  
• Take our courses to manage your condition and actively enhance your daily life.
  
• Learn about support groups for care partners that provide professional guidance and a community of individuals on a similar journey.

About Dr. Karen Miller

Karen Miller, PhD, is the Senior Director of the Brain Wellness & Lifestyle program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute®, and is a leading national expert in Memory/Cognitive Training. With more than three decades of experience in the field of aging and memory as a geropsychologist and clinical neuropsychologist, she develops and directs the implementation of programs aimed at providing a roadmap to brain wellness.

Learn More About Brain Wellness & Lifestyle

213-344-2037
1301 20th St. #100, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Lifestyle@pacificneuro.org

Useful Links

• Brain Wellness & Lifestyle program
• FitBrain®
• Roadmap to Brain Wellness