During first, my school and later college days and even when I studied for my professional accounting examinations, I had a habit of shutting my books at a certain point of time.  Particularly when I was preparing to leave home for the exam venue, I would listen for a couple of hours to some of my favorite vocal music. It allowed me to relax my brain under stress from the study sessions. I found tremendous clarity in my approach to tackling the exam questions. It also reduced the nervousness that inevitably accompanies periods just before examination day arrives.  If taken to an extreme, this nervousness can get converted into fear. Fear tends to paralyze our senses and often leads to memory loss. This is how many of us tend to forget at very crucial moments what we had studied. The moral of the story: even the brain requires to wind down and rest.

The Multisensory Boost

We are all aware how a multisensory environment promotes more effective learning and gives the brain new synaptic connections through different experiences. There are tons of activities which provide such multisensory stimulation. Meet the king of them all - travel. Travel provides a cornucopia of sensory galvanization.

Traveling to new places, to begin with, presents you with an audiovisual show like no other. The unique vistas that you come across, the new sounds that your ears are acquainted with are stimulants that your brain thrives on.  As a major retardant  of motivation,  creativity too gets severely affected when you remain in your comfort zone and do not gain new experiences. Traveling to new places takes you out of that comfort zone faster than any other activity. Your entire physical and mental conditioning is jolted out of its inertia and invigorated. Travel is like a tonic for stimulation and creativity.

What are the elements of travel that provide stimulation?
The following could be considered as some important ones:

• Sights and Sounds - This is a rather obvious element of stimulation since each new place we visit has its own unique land, sea and sky-scapes that define it. It is the absorption of these by our senses that provide fresh neural pathways in the brain and boost creativity.
• People and Culture - People and Culture are less obvious but equally stimulating elements. Depending on the reason for the travel, coming into contact and interacting with people of different cultures, traditions and origins intrinsically gives the brain a whirl of new connections. In particular, the way of life that people of different cultures adopt is a powerful method for absorbing new information for later brainstorming. Further, meeting new people and understanding different cultures broaden perspectives while reducing prejudices and biases.  There is no better way of learning new customs and practices and enhancing your awareness.
• Languages - Coming across new languages and regional dialects, understanding or even learning them is a whole brain activity and a rich source of stimulation for creative pursuits.

We all know that travel changes us. But did you know it makes you more creative? A better problem solver?  That's what Jonah Lehrer asserted in his "Your Brain" column in The Panorama Magazine.

Lehrer, contributing editor at Wired magazine titled his essay "Definitive, Incontrovertible Proof: Why Travel Makes You Smarter." Citing research conducted at Indiana University, the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, and the INSEAD business school in France, he comes up with several conclusions that should resonate with worldly travelers, especially those of an "Afar-ish" bent:
"When we escape from the place we spend most of our time, ... we start thinking about obscure possibilities ... that never would have occurred to us if we'd stayed back on the farm."
"Experiencing another culture endows us with a valuable open-mindedness."
And finally, when we travel, "We're reminded of all that we don't know, which is nearly everything; we're surprised by the constant stream of surprises. ... We travel because we need to, because distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has been changed, and that changes everything."

Thus it seems travel not only feels like an adventure, it actually acts as an adventure for our brain.  Jonah Lehrer also details why we continue to take those trips, even with all of the annoyances, tediousness, and aggravations that come with just about every expedition we take. He explains travel's usefulness to our brains:
The reason such travels are mentally useful involves a quirk of cognition, in which problems that feel "close" get contemplated in a more concrete manner. As a result, when we think about things that are nearby, our thoughts are constricted, bound by a more limited set of associations. While this habit can be helpful - it allows us to focus on the facts at hand - it also inhibits our imagination.  From there, by way of different studies Lehrer gathered, he postulates that getting away from the problem gives us a chance to envision larger outcomes and possibilities. Distance is key.
  

Travel is indeed thus one of the keys to unlocking the creativity of your brain. Most of you can probably agree that the imagination, which comes with travel - of new worlds, of other cultures, is what makes you sign up for that next trip before you have even fully recovered from the last. Now you know the imagination actually experienced on trips can help you out in "regular life," too.

When you escape from the place you spend most of your time, ... you start thinking about obscure possibilities ... that never would have occurred to you if you had stayed back home.  Consider for example the creativity of dealing with the unknown - which train do you take? How much money does this convert to? - is like taking your brain to the gym (and who knows, may help in warding off diseases such as dementia). That's certainly worth adding to the perks of travel.

Mark Jenkins, the American Artist said:
Adventure is a path. Real adventure, self-determined, self-motivated, often risky, forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.

 

Language Learning and Creativity  

For those who of you who have, say, migrated to a new country or have lived in another country for work for a couple of years, learning the language of that country is something which makes daily living and communicating easier and less stressful.  You probably have also considered how good it would feel to speak to people in another language. But did you know it will also boost your brainpower?  Do you speak any other languages? Maybe you've considered how good it would feel to be able to speak to people in another language, but did you know it also expands the range of your possible thoughts? It's true. There are concepts in each language that don't exist in others, as well as different expressions. These can give you new ways to think, and change your perspective on things.

You gain not just words when you learn a language, but the ability to understand things better. Who can speak more precisely about snow; someone with three words for it (snow, sleet, powder); or an eskimo with 23 words for it?

TRY THIS:
Plan a trip to a place of historical significance, ideally one of the many civilizations that existed a few centuries ago. Resolve to read about their origins, living, languages, monuments, contribution to the modern world and so on.

Visit Egypt, one of the greatest civilizations on the river Nile and whose contribution to the modern world is indisputable. The fantastic aspect of visiting Egypt is that most of their phenomenal building structures, pyramids, temples, obelisks, sphinx etc are standing intact and proud in all their glory even today. A walk through the Temple of Luxor or Karnak is like walking through history, it is a once in a lifetime experience.  It also assails the brain with millions of new thoughts, perspectives, vistas, ideas that boost creativity immensely. You are left in awe wondering how on earth they manage to create those colossal structures. It is an experience you owe to yourself.

 

Let me leave you with this question.
Will your brain be the same after such an avalanche of stimulation? I doubt it. Go on. Find out for yourself.

Your brain will thank you for it.