Avid travelers — plus those who wish to travel more frequently —often express the intangible pull of “wanderlust,” or the deeply rooted, nearly spiritual desire to travel as often as possible and as much of the world as they can.
Some may attribute it to curiosity, others to leisure, and still others for a myriad of other reasons; but scientists have tackled the idea of wanderlust clinically, and some indicate that there may actually be a genetic predisposition for the elevated desire to travel.
Several published studies by qualified scientists have found that people with a certain mutation of dopamine receptor DRD4 may be naturally born with “the wanderlust gene.” This gene, which is found largely within migratory rather than sedentary populations, is closely connected with the urge to take risks and pursue the unknown. (Similarly, it also sparks something akin to restlessness in the beholder, which is also linked to ADHD.)
So the next time someone chides you for traveling too much or heaving your head in the clouds (whether physically or metaphorically), simply tell them that it’s in your DNA.
