Why We're Braver on Vacation, According to Psychologists

"Both times, bungee jumping had presented itself neatly packaged, properly regulated and entirely safe, and I declined with little-to-no hesitation. Zambia, on the other hand, met me differently. On a warm, windless day over the Zambezi River, standing in front of a rickety platform with little to suggest international safety compliance, I found myself ready to jump. Not metaphorically-genuinely, wholeheartedly ready. I would have done it too, if not for the people with me urging otherwise-and that says something."

"What shifts in us when we travel? Why do we suddenly say yes to things we'd instinctively reject in the cities we call home? It's not just the setting that changes-it's us. We speak to strangers, try foods we can't pronounce, hike through jungles, dance at rooftop parties, and, sometimes, prepare to throw ourselves off bridges with a flimsy rope tied to our ankles."

"There's real psychology behind this behavioral pivot, why we're seemingly braver on vacation. From the loosening of social roles to the neurological effects of novelty, several theories explain why travel emboldens us in ways that everyday life often does not. What might seem like a sudden burst of recklessness is, more often, a moment of deep and temporary liberation-one in which our brain, environment, and sense of self conspire to make us braver."

Travel disrupts habitual roles and behavioral loops, allowing unfamiliar versions of self to emerge and weakening routine-based inhibition. Novel environments increase neural sensitivity to novelty and reward, reducing risk aversion and promoting exploratory actions. Social contexts abroad lower reputational constraints and enable role experimentation, increasing willingness to engage with strangers, try unfamiliar foods, and attempt adventurous activities. These shifts combine cognitive, social, and neurological mechanisms to produce a temporary liberation in which choices appear braver or more reckless compared with everyday behavior constrained by familiar responsibilities and cues.

Read at Conde Nast Traveler