But travel is so much more than stunning IRL sunsets and that #daydrinking life. It’s also good for your mind and your soul. Here are 13 amazing effects travel has on your brain.

1. It boosts your creativity.

A recent study from the Academy of Management Journal found that people who worked overseas were more imaginative and inspired than those who stayed in the U.S. Why? It’s all about cultural immersion.

“People who integrate a new culture into their identities are more creative in the long run,” William Maddux, Ph.D., the study’s lead author, tells BuzzFeed Life.

His logic: Doing as the locals do for an extended period of time opens up your mind, forcing you to think in different ways and bounce around between different ideas. It’s a concept scientists very fancily refer to as “cognitive flexibility.” And the more ~cognitively flexible~ you are, the more creative you will be.

So basically, eating roasted scorpions on your Asian adventure (or getting into whatever other local thing around the world you want) may make you a more creative, interesting person over time. Boom.

2. It makes you more trusting.

Maddux found in his previous research that wanderlusting your way around the world increases your faith in humanity. “The more foreign countries people travel to, the more their sense of generalized trust increases,” he tells BuzzFeed Life.

Reason: Seeing all of the good that exists in the world makes it easier to trust that most people, for the most part, are just trying to do the right thing … most of the time. Aww.

3. It makes you a better problem-solver.

A study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reported that students who lived abroad were 20% more likely to solve a computer task than those who didn’t travel.

Why: Simply seeing another culture for an extended period of time opens up your mind to the many ways of the world, which helps you realize that one thing can have multiple meanings.

In other words, just knowing that these guys are out there riding camels while you’re stressing about how to approach your boss helps you remember that there are many ways to live this life. And, as such, there’s definitely more than one way to approach your boss. Mind = blown.

4. And more humble, too.

That same Journal of Personality and Social Psychology study also found that study abroad kids were more humble than those who didn’t travel. Makes sense: How could you not be in awe of our country and the great big giant world when faced with such epicness like the Grand Canyon?

5. It makes you more open to new things.

Proof: The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology study also found that students who studied abroad were more open to new experiences in their everyday lives than those who stayed on campus. It all comes down to the people you meet along the way: Getting to know people (or, you know, snakes) in other cultures outside of your day-to-day social network expands your horizons, which means you’re more likely to look for new things when you get home, too.

6. It makes you sharper.

The latest evidence: In a new study published in the journal Environmental Psychology, researchers found that people who simply looked at a photo of nature for only 40 seconds had improved focus and performance on their next task. That’s right, they didn’t even need to go outside! (Though clearly, the effect still applies if you do.)

Your mission: Book a ticket to a nature-y place, get outside, and get smarter. Any questions?

7. It can help you reinvent yourself.

Travel as reinvention is huge. People travel all the time in search of meaning, or a fresh start, or a sense of purpose.

And the best part is, it actually works: “Taking a break from business as usual enables us to pause, contemplate our lives, and potentially re-route the path we are taking on our journey,” environmental and design psychologist Toby Israel, Ph.D., author of Some Place Like Home, tells BuzzFeed Life. “Traveling helps us look at our lives from a distance — both physically and metaphorically. And when you do that, you’re able to see it a lot more clearly.”