A recent study suggests that traveling can slow down the aging process. Edith Cowan University (ECU) experts in Australia conducted the study and revealed the tourism is not only about leisure and recreation – it could also contribute to people's physical and mental health. Travel therapy may slow down aging.
In an interdisciplinary study, the university's researchers applied entropy theory to tourism. The result suggests that travel can positively affect health, including slowing down the signs of aging.
Entropy is the universal tendency towards death and disorder. It can be seen as an indicator of irreversibility, signifying something that cannot be reversed spontaneously. Studies show that tourism can impact entropy in both positive and negative ways: positive experiences can reduce entropy and improve health, while negative experiences can have the opposite effect.
Travel Therapy
Aging is an irreversible process, but it can be slowed down. Positive travel experiences can enhance people's physical and mental well-being through exposure to new environments, physical activity, social interaction, and the experience of positive emotions. These benefits can be gained through wellness tourism, health tourism, and yoga tourism.
Travel therapy could be a groundbreaking health intervention. Travel exposes individuals to new environments and activities, which can trigger stress responses that boost metabolism, positively impacting the body's metabolic activities and self-organization ability. In simple terms, the body's self-defense system becomes more robust. Travel can also release hormones that endorse tissue repair and regeneration and support the self-healing system functions.
Engaging in leisurely activities while traveling can help alleviate chronic stress and reduce tension and fatigue in muscles and joints, keeping the metabolism balanced and improving the body's wear protection. Hiking, climbing, walking, and cycling can be particularly beneficial. Exercise also improves blood circulation, accelerates nutrient transport, and aids in waste elimination, maintaining an active self-healing system overall. In summary, travel can help slow down the aging process by leveraging the body's own mechanisms.
Traveling Can Also Have Disadvantages
It's important to acknowledge that travel carries some risks. Tourism can lead to negative experiences that may result in health issues, which aligns with the concept of increasing disorder.
Frequent exposure to problems such as infectious diseases, accidents, injuries, violence, and water and food shortages during your travels can hasten the aging process. Additionally, confrontations arising from inappropriate tourist behavior are among the potential negative experiences with the opposite effect. These situations have become more common due to mass tourism in recent years.