The Healing Power of Travel and Connectedness

December 31, 2025 - Behnaz Atree, MD

As we feel the year winding down and winter settling in, the onset of December can encourage us to pause, reflect on the past year, and look ahead into the coming year. We feel the gentle pull towards home, the urge to reconnect with loved ones, and sometimes the longing to visit places we have been dreaming of.

When we think about healthy habits, nutrition goals, physical workouts, or optimizing sleep often come to mind first. However, one of the strongest predictors of long-term health and good quality of life is connectedness. Positive social connections are vital for happiness but it extends to any relationships that are meaningful and purposeful – spirituality, pets, and the natural world. Feeling valued and part of something larger than ourselves is therapeutic.

Connectedness and chronic diseases are linked through multiple physiological pathways, primarily involving stress response regulation by calming the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis and decreasing cortisol. This leads to favorable regulation of blood pressure, blood sugar and heart rate. It also is correlated with decreased inflammatory markers like C-reactive proteins and interleukin-6, which are established precursors for cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Healthy connections improve parasympathetic (vagal) activity (helps lower resting heart rate) and activate oxytocin (a hormone that dampens stress responses and increases feelings of trust and bonding). These mechanisms lead to improved outcomes for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and depression. The Harvard Study of Adult Development (decades long ongoing study, started 1938) concluded that the single most important predictor of happiness and longevity is having social connections.

Travel often creates space for connection. Whether it’s visiting loved ones, enjoying a quiet weekend to rest or exploring a new place, stepping out of routine helps us connect – with people, culture, nature and ourselves.

Travel can encourage purposeful movement – walking through streets, taking stairs, walking on trails, and visiting markets and museums. This movement feels more enjoyable than routine exercising and still contributes to cardiovascular, metabolic and musculoskeletal health. Many struggle to integrate formal exercise routines into their schedule but find that movement during travel feels more joyful. This can become an incentive to increase and sustain activity at home.

Many travel moments center around fresh, local, minimally-processed foods and shared meals. Many traditional cuisines are made of whole food, plant-predominant ingredients. Combined with eating slowly, savoring each flavor and enjoying each

other’s company, this encourages mindful eating which supports satiety and metabolic regulation.

Being in a new environment and spending time away from chronic demands can down regulate sympathetic nervous system activity. A lake at sunrise, a bustling market, a

peaceful garden or foggy mountain range can activate a sense of calm, lower inflammatory markers and restore mental energy. Small shifts like earlier bedtimes, natural light exposure and tech-free days can support circadian rhythm and rest.

The most meaningful of all are the shared experiences – the conversation, laughter, troubleshooting when things deviate from the plans, watching a sunset in silence and discovering something new. These perhaps have the deepest health benefit as it strengthens bonds, belonging, shared meaning and emotional resilience.

Travel doesn’t have to be to distant places to be healing and can include day tripping to nearby towns or parks, visiting family and friends or exploring nearby cultural and historic sites. Community programs, walking groups, clubs, volunteer experiences and simple shared meals offer similar benefits due to the underlying factors of presence, engagement, and connection.

As the year closes, many of us seek renewal, reconnection, or simply a pause. Sometimes we need to remember what has always supported human health – time together, shared food, movement, nature, movement and caring for one another.

Whether you travel far across oceans or stay close to home – our journey is towards a life that feels connected, present and purposeful.

Sources:
Effects of Objective and Perceived Social Isolation on Cardiovascular and Brain Health: A Scientific Statement from The American Heart Association, Journal of the American Heart Association, 2022Crystal W Cene et al

Study of Adult Development, Harvard Second Generation Study, Grant W.T, 2015 Good Genes are nice, but joy is better, The Harvard Gazette, April 11, 2017, Mineo L

Behnaz Atree, MD

Dr. Behnaz Atree has been a practicing Primary Care physician in Raleigh, NC, for over 20 years. Dr. Atree has become certified in Lifestyle Medicine in 2022 as well as Health and Wellness Coaching in 2023. She is excited to integrate her experience in Internal Medicine with her training in Lifestyle Medicine and Health Coaching to provide evidence-based, therapeutic lifestyle interventions through Carolina Lifestyle Medicine.

Click here to read more about Dr Behnaz Atree, MD