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Travel memories are good for your health… science says so!

2 December 2024

Professor Lutz Jäncke, a Doctor in Natural Sciences with a chair in Neuropsychology at the University of Zurich, commenting on a study conducted by GFK at the European level, explains that:

“Beautiful travel memories can help us in our everyday lives. This technique is also used in psychotherapy to overcome sadness and depression. Regardless of age and the context in which we grow up, our memory always works in the same way: memories develop from personal details that resurface over time. The more emotional a moment was, the more intensely we remember it.”

Professor Jäncke argues that travel has become an increasingly necessary element for our mind and states:

“When we travel, we find ourselves outside of our daily routine, we have a different mood, we focus on aspects that are different from those we are used to, and we are free to do so. We therefore associate travel with positive emotions.”

But what do people remember about the trips they take? According to Professor Jäncke, upon returning from a trip, we don’t remember everything we’ve seen, and what we remember the most are undoubtedly the natural landscapes. In fact, our mind is able to capture certain details almost indelibly, and specific sensory stimuli trigger in us “flashbulb memories” that make us relive the emotions of the vacation.

The conclusion of this study is that travel memories are priceless, in the truest sense of the word. Nearly 83% of Italians surveyed believe that the memories from a trip are worth the amount spent. Jäncke explains that during every trip, a person, driven by emotion and excitement, takes dozens or even hundreds of photographs, but not all of them are important. We should select a few to emphasize their significance, so that when we look at them again, we are reminded of that trip. Another way to remember trips, even after some time, is by buying an item or souvenir to keep with us or on our desk… “It is undoubtedly,” says Professor Jäncke, “an effective way to not forget a vacation.”