A new study from researchers at Australia’s Edith Cowan University (ECU) found that positive travel experiences might be a fountain of youth.
Sage’s Journal of Travel Research published the study in August. The research examined travel and tourism’s impacts on mental, physical, and social health. The study conducted its research via the lens of “entropy,” which the report stated “is a universal law describing a natural progression from order to disorder.”
The findings alleged that positive travel experiences can help the body regulate good health, aka a “low-entropy state.” Meanwhile, the researchers now believe that negative travel experiences “could increase entropy and lead to health issues.” The study additionally asserted that leisurely vacationing could lower stress and have positive physical benefits.
“Aging, as a process, is irreversible. While it can’t be stopped, it can be slowed down,” said PhD candidate Fangli Hu, the study’s principal researcher.
“Leisurely travel activities might help alleviate chronic stress, dampen over-activation of the immune system, and encourage normal functioning of the self-defense system,” Hu added. “Engaging in recreation potentially releases tension and fatigue in the muscles and joints. This relief helps maintain the body’s metabolic balance and increases the anti–wear-and-tear system’s effectiveness. Organs and tissues can then remain in a low-entropy state.”
What Else Did Researchers Find About Travel’s Impacts On Aging?
Physical activities done while traveling — walking, cycling, climbing, etc. — can positively impact metabolic health, bones, joints, muscles, and “the body’s anti–wear-and-tear system.” Moreover, your body’s resilience gained through travel may lead to hormonal changes and can encourage self-healing.
The researchers highlighted the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of when tourists could have faced “inappropriate tourism engagement,” like an infectious virus, via their travels. Other entropy-increasing things that travelers could experience that might contribute to aging were violence, unsafe water and food, disease, accidents, and injuries.
