Book That Trip! New Study Reveals Travel Is Healthy, Slows Aging Process

Researchers use the entropy theory to find that leisure travel and recreation may potentially slow down aging and enhance health.

A new study has revealed travel’s physical and mental health benefits, and a delay in the aging process is one.

By applying entropy theory to tourism, researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia found that travel activities such as exercising and relaxing help the body slow down aging. According to a press release by ECU, entropy is “the general trend of the universe towards death and disorder.”

“[Aging], as a process, is irreversible. While it can’t be stopped, it can be slowed down,” said ECU Ph.D. candidate Fangli Hu. The entropy perspective views positive tourism experiences as a potential way to mitigate entropy increase and boost health. “Tourism isn’t just about leisure and recreation. It could also contribute to people’s physical and mental health,” Hu added. Wellness, health, and yoga tourism have posed potential health benefits like a boost in metabolism, energy, and immune function due to exposure to new surroundings, positive social interactions, relaxation, and physical activities such as hiking, climbing, walking, and cycling.

Tourism introduces the opportunity for travelers to engage in physical activity, which ECU researchers found improves blood circulation, expedites nutrient transport, and aids waste elimination. Positive travel experiences may help the body sustain a low-entropy state, influence its self-organizing capabilities, and improve its ability to defend itself against external threats. “Put simply, the self-defense system becomes more resilient,” Hu said. “Hormones conducive to tissue repair and regeneration may be released and promote the self-healing system’s functioning.”

Leisure travel activities were found to potentially “help alleviate chronic stress,” a feeling researchers in 2021 said contributed to the rapid weathering of the body for Black people due to factors like social adversity and racial discrimination. The research, published in the National Library of Medicine, also linked depression to the rate of biological aging in Black people.

Hu acknowledged recreation as a method to benefit the bones, release tension and fatigue in the muscles and joints, and support the body’s anti–wear-and-tear system. These factors help the organs and tissues remain in a low-entropy state.