Close your eyes and imagine walking through a market in another part of the world. What do you notice?
Maybe it's the smell of unfamiliar spices. Or is it music drifting from somewhere nearby? Look at the brightly colored fruit offered for sale. Try something you've never tasted before. And all around, a language you don't know.
Travel engages all our senses, surrounding us with sights, sounds, tastes, scents, textures, conversations, and new things to learn. So, we encourage you to take your senses on a trip around the world. The best part: you don't need a ticket or a passport.
The World Health Organization describes brain health as functioning across cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, behavioral, and motor domains. Research has found that going to different places and having varied daily experiences makes people feel happier. And growing evidence suggests that taking on cognitively complex activities, like learning a computer program or foreign language, can lengthen independent functioning and protect against mental decline. Morgan Barense, professor and researcher at the University of Toronto explains, "Next to age, an under-stimulating environment and social isolation are among the greatest risk factors for cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease."
That makes new experiences particularly important as we grow older. Listening to unfamiliar music, learning about another culture, trying a different flavor, and examining different artwork, all ask the brain to notice, interpret, remember, and connect.
One of the simplest ways to have new experiences is by engaging with other cultures. You can easily create an at-home adventure with a little research and small intentions. So, revisit somewhere you loved, explore the country your ancestors came from, pick the destination you always hoped to see, or choose a place at random. Then build an exploration based on seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching (doing). Here are three ideas to jump start your travel without leaving the comforts of home.
See: Take a free virtual tour of the Tokyo National Museum and explore an overview of Japanese history.
Hear: Listen to traditional Japanese instruments such as the koto or shakuhachi. You can also explore a wide range of Japanese music in Smithsonian Folkways.
Taste: Prepare green tea and sample something simple such as rice crackers, edamame, or miso soup.
Touch: Arrange flowers in the Ikebana style or practice folding a butterfly origami.
See: Visit the Museo Frida Kahlo and Museo Nacional de Antropología online or watch a video about one of Mexico's most historic and popular traditions, the Day of the Dead.
Hear: Explore mariachi, son jarocho, or marimba. Other Mexican musical traditions are also available to enjoy.
Taste: Try mango with lime, warm corn tortillas, avocado, or another favorite Mexican flavor.
Touch: Make papel picado or a tin heart (in the Milagro style) to decorate your space.
See: Take a virtual tour of the Lekki Conservation Center in Nigeria, page through the Timbuktu's ancient manuscripts in Mali, or learn how royalty provides moral guidance and cultural continuity in today's works.
Hear: Listen to children's songs from Ghana and check out a live performance of one of the few women to play ekonting in Senegal, Nigeria.
Taste: Many familiar ingredients like sweet potato, peanuts, rice, and plantain are West African staples. Some grocery stores sell jollof rice and sweet plantains in the frozen aisles.
Touch: Learn about Ghana's Adinkra art history and then make your own stamps and printing.
Journeys gain extra meaning when you take time to write down what you discovered. After each "trip," record a few lines; note the "destination" and then write about one or more of the following:
Over time, the pages become a travelogue of both new discoveries and old memories.
Caregivers can make sensory exploration easier without needing to become tour directors. Start with the person's interests rather than choosing an experience for them. Someone who loves cooking might begin with food; a music lover with a playlist; an art lover with a virtual museum.
Adapt activities to energy, mobility, sensory abilities, cognitive changes, and dietary needs. One song and a cup of tea can be an experience. So can an entire afternoon devoted to another country. Most importantly, be curious together. Ask:
The goal is to create an opportunity to taste something different, remember something wonderful, learn something unexpected, and share the experience with someone else.
The world is a very big place. All it takes to begin exploring it is opening your senses.
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Sources: WHO; Nature Neuroscience; APA; University of Toronto