Eating good food, enjoying the company of friends, and traveling are three things that seemingly everybody enjoys. While traveling typically does require people to be apart from their pets, loved ones, and friends, unless they’re welcome to hop aboard and tag along, the benefits of traveling greatly outweigh the negatives.

Just last year, the world’s population spent more than one trillion dollars on traveling – to be specific, $1,036 billion was spent across the planet by people who were traveling, according to the United States Travel Association.

Despite the allure and historical popularity of traveling, Americans have actually begun to travel less over the past two decades. A study published by Project: Time Off found that United States employees took only 16 vacation days in 2013 – in 2000, they took about 20. Regardless of this fact, traveling has major benefits for someone’s health.

Here are some of the most important, powerful benefits of traveling. While everybody might not experience all of them, most travelers do to some extent.

More Active When Traveling

When people vacation, they often rent homes and hotels to store their belongings and sleep at. Most of the vacationers’ time is spent away from their temporary places of living. As such, people who are actively traveling are more likely to be active than their non-traveling counterparts. Exercise, even physical activity as simple as walking is known to have positive effects on mental and physical health.

Dealing With Stress More Easily

In general, facing your mental health problems is almost always a better idea than running away from them. However, the American Psychological Association supports research that indicates frequent travelers view traveling as a break from mental health issues. Traveling can help people deal with stressors more easily.

Travel Makes Us Happier

Is constantly traveling as a means of lifting one’s mood a good idea? Probably not. However, going on a vacation or traveling, whether that’s for personal use or not,  is linked to improved mood in most people, says Diamond Resorts International.

Traveling is a popular activity. It includes countless activities, sights to see, and interesting places along the way. Traveling frequently is suggested to make people happier with their lives. If you are thinking about traveling in the near future, consider these benefits and urge yourself to travel!