Looking for an excuse to pack your bags and jet off on an adventure? While you may feel guilty for blowing off your work for a little while, new studies suggest that you shouldn’t: letting your wanderlust carry you to new destinations can actually be beneficial to your education, career, relationships and overall health.

The next time your classmates or colleagues frown at you for scratching your travel itch, dazzle them with the fun facts in this infographic by Kaplan, Inc. – and inspire them to leave their everyday life behind more often, too!

Relationships

We’ve all heard about disastrous holidays that revealed a family’s or couple’s dysfunction… or have lived to tell the tale. But don’t let those stories and experiences discourage you from travelling with your loved ones. In fact, chances are that you’ll improve your relationships: 50% of people reported feeling reconnected with their families after going on holiday together, while 83% of couples believe that their seasoned relationship is still romantic because of travelling. Oh, and if you’re travelling solo, there’s a pretty decent chance that you’ll have a little holiday fling… and who knows, it may even turn into the real thing!

Career

Exploring new destinations is not simply fun and games – it can also be advantageous to your career development. It’s widely believed that travellers often become more open-minded, communicative and adaptable as a result of their journeys, along with improving their planning and teamwork skills. If you’ve been working your tail off to climb the career ladder, this is certainly good news: why not get out of your office chair and take a little breather, all while getting one step closer to that promotion?

Health

Believe it or not: it gets better. There are myriad health benefits associated with travel, such as lower stress hormones, lower blood pressure, better sleep, a stronger immune system and even an increased life expectancy. And if that isn’t enough to convince you, Kaplan’s study revealed that 75% of executives felt that taking holidays is a significant factor in preventing burnouts. Those stats almost sound too good to be true, but can easily become your reality if you quench your travel thirst.

Education

Still studying? Thinking about doing a year abroad? Although getting out of the usual pressure cooker may be incentive enough, perhaps learning that 86% of students consider their time spent abroad an essential part of their education will give you the final push to venture outside of your comfort zone. What’s more, 66% of students who spend time overseas earn higher degrees, which is bound to please you – and/or your demanding parents. So, why not strengthen your cultural awareness, become more independent and even learn a foreign language?

Whether you’d like to live healthier, progress in the career world, enhance your studies or rekindle the romance in your relationship, a holiday can’t hurt – and may even help. Stop putting off your dream holiday and treat yourself to a beneficial break!