It's proven: here's the proof
"By performing any new action, including the study of any subject, or being on a trip in other different contexts to which the person normally develops, the brain creates new connections. The more connections a person has, the more tools they have for adaptation to new experiences and even to know how to respond, in less time, to problems that arise throughout your life ", he explains and l Dr. Fernando Miralles , Professor of Psychology at the CEU San Pablo University.
This same theory is defended by the psychologist ** Jaime Burque **, who tells us the following: "When we travel, our brain leaves its “cognitive comfort zone” and has to face different scenarios: new stimuli, unexpected changes and problems, new sensations... A total change in the routines of our mind , which causes, in turn, that our levels of attention, problem solving, imagination, or even interpersonal skills increase significantly."
Her time in Africa changed Karen Blixen's mind
WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?
For now, the feeling of feeling smarter is very real. But there is even more good news for those of us with this insight, in the form of multiple studies confirming this . In one carried out by the Kellogg School of Management , in Illinois, the researchers noted that students who had lived abroad were more likely to solve a difficult creative problem than those who had never left their country. The work concluded that "the experience of another culture provides the traveler with a valuable mind opening , making it easier for him to realize that the same thing can have more than one meaning ".
Along the same line are the investigations of the Singapore Management University , which also show that people who experience other cultures more are more capable of generate creative ideas and establish more unexpected links between concepts.
But could it be that what happens is that those who are inclined to travel are more creative on their own ? According to a study carried out by the University of Florida , No. During it, tasks were distributed that required creative thinking to be resolved to three groups of students: those who had already studied abroad, those who were planning to do so and those who had no plans to leave the country. The answer? Those who had traveled achieved better results than the other two groups.
The trip allows you to see life in another way
WHY DOES TRAVEL POSITIVELY AFFECT PROBLEM SOLVING?
Burque explains it this way: "When we go on a trip, what is called the “cognitive flexibility” , namely, the brain must effectively mold itself to changes that occur around them, which in turn improves our ability to attention, receptivity, imagination and creativity. In addition, the fact of being in contact with other environments, people or different cultures also increases our open mind and tolerance to new situations. Final consequence of all the above? That our ability to solve problems increases in a significative way".
Likewise, the expert adds: "Furthermore, traveling fills us with psychological strengths such as humility, creativity, appreciation of beauty, curiosity or a passion for learning, which makes that our brain becomes a sponge , assimilate to the maximum and be open to new experiences in life. On the other hand, the act of traveling can increase our mindfulness to each present moment, which translates to the computer of our brain is at 100% in each situation , squeezing the most of its capabilities".
Dr. Miralles also agrees with this change to the best of our abilities: "The adaptation and the comprehension to other cultures and ways of understanding life, as well as the Opening to change there would be three psychological factors that are positively altered", he enumerates.
But that is not all that influences us to feel happier with our intellectual performance when we go on a trip or when we return from it. Burque explains it to us: "Traveling too reduces fear and stress , on the one hand, and on the other, it relaxes us and makes us be happy , causing our emotional balance (the ratio of positive emotions we have daily for each negative emotion) increases. When it increases, people are said to “bloom” , as if it were plants. Thus, a domino effect is produced in all areas of our lives, also at a cognitive level, with a increased capabilities such as performance, creativity, and problem analysis . Finally, travel too it increases our perspective and helps us to relativize and, therefore, to analyze with more objectivity the circumstances that surround us".
Traveling helps improve mindfulness in the present moment, like meditation
ARE THEY TRAVELERS SMARTER?
So, speaking clearly: Are we or are we not more intelligent who travel? Miralles responds thus: "Currently, we cannot speak of only a general intelligence, because we studied up to eight types of intelligences ; however, we could say that people who take trips could gain higher interpersonal intelligence (by being able to empathize more with people who have different ways of understanding life and by having more information to be able to assess their lifestyle) ".
Burque, for his part, compares vacations to a "mind gym" : "I don't think that someone who travels is more intelligent than someone who doesn't, but if the brain is a muscle, traveling is like going to the gym. In other words, traveling tones the “muscle” of our brain (creativity, problem solving or mindfulness) in many aspects, causing perform better in life ".
Stephen Strange wouldn't be a hero if he hadn't made that journey to Kamar-Taj.