Travel, It Does a Brain Good

Travel is good for your brain, your cognitive processing more specifically, and that is great news because I think there are too many forces in my life that have the direct opposite effect. Last night, for instance, I watched the Bachelor finale and sat through a live performance of the "Wings of Love" theme song. Coupled with the two glasses of wine it took to get through it, I felt both cheated of three hours and shamefully less intelligent. So back to the good news, in addition to all the fabulous things about travel, you can add brain-boosting. I found this gem in the fabulous McSweeny's publication Panorama and it's written by Jonah Lehrer (he seems to be an all-around smart fellow and rock star, see the Panorama piece in his blog here.) The gist (and forgive any oversimplification) of the article is that travel - and it doesn't matter to where - gives our brains the ability to consider problems and situations more concretely. At home our problems are close (close in time, space and feeling) and that, for science-y reasons, makes our brains consider them more narrowly, with what Lehrer refers to as "a more limited set of associations." When we do something as simple as drive two hours and spend the night somewhere besides our own bed, our minds do an amazing mind trick and consider solutions and possibilites outside of the familiar. So while travel is good for us for many reasons, exposure to new cultures, new foods, new shopping, relaxation and adventure, it makes us smarter by allowing our brains to illuminate solutions we simply couldn't at home. A beach chair and a margarita might be the perfect time relax, but it might also be the perfect time to solve that work problem. Lehrer explains it beautifully (do I have a science-crush?) when he says "The larger lesson, though, is that our thoughts are shackled by the familiar. The brain is a neural tangle of near-infinite possibility, which means that it spends a lot of time and energy choosing what not to notice" It's also sort of depressing, that we settle into the familiar (especially when the Bachelor, Jersey Shore and the like are the familiar) to the detriment of our minds. But this sort of revelation can also be a call to action. I read an article like this and I'm reminded of the possiblities, of why wanderlust is a good thing, why my life as a VagaBlond should live up to the name. I feel like the pages yelled at me: TURN OFF THE TV. USE YOUR MIND. PACK YOUR BAGS. Take a minute to read it, see what it says to you.