Could travel help to defy the aging process?

Travel — of the touristy kind, as opposed to the time travel kind — could help to slow the aging process, according to new research.

An interdisciplinary study by Edith Cowan University (ECU) has applied the theory of entropy to tourism, finding that travel could have an array of positive health benefits.

Entropy is classified as the general trend of the universe towards death and disorder. The entropy perspective suggests that tourism could trigger entropy changes, where positive experiences might mitigate entropy increase and enhance health, and negative experiences may contribute to entropy increase and compromise health.

“Aging, as a process, is irreversible. While it can’t be stopped, it can be slowed down,” said ECU PhD candidate Fangli Hu.

Hu noted that positive travel experiences could enhance individuals’ physical and mental wellness through exposure to novel environments, engagement in physical activities and social interaction, and the fostering of positive emotions. These potential benefits have been acknowledged through practices such as wellness tourism, health tourism and yoga tourism.

“Tourism isn’t just about leisure and recreation. It could also contribute to people’s physical and mental health,” Hu said.

How travel therapy slows down the clock

Travel therapy could serve as a ground-breaking health intervention when viewed through an entropy lens, according to Hu. As an important aspect of the environment, positive travel experiences may help the body sustain a low-entropy state by modulating its four major systems.

Tourism typically exposes people to new surroundings and relaxing activities, and novel settings can stimulate stress responses and elevate metabolic rates, positively influencing metabolic activities and the body’s self-organising capabilities. These contexts may also trigger an adaptive immune system response.

Hu said that this reaction improves the body’s ability to perceive and defend itself against external threats.

“Put simply, the self-defence system becomes more resilient. Hormones conducive to tissue repair and regeneration may be released and promote the self-healing system’s functioning.”

Leisurely travel activities might help alleviate chronic stress, dampen over-activation of the immune system, and encourage normal functioning of the self-defence system. 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, Hu explained.

Travel encompasses physical activities such as hiking, climbing, walking and cycling. Physical exertion can boost metabolism, energy expenditure, and material transformation, all of which help coordinate self-organising systems.

“Participating in these activities could enhance the body’s immune function and self-defence capabilities, bolstering its hardiness to external risks. Physical exercise may also improve blood circulation, expedite nutrient transport, and aid waste elimination to collectively maintain an active self-healing system. Moderate exercise is beneficial to the bones, muscles and joints in addition to supporting the body’s anti-wear-and-tear system,” Hu said.

On the flip side, the research has pointed out that tourists could face challenges such as infectious diseases, accidents, injuries, violence, water and food safety issues, and concerns related to inappropriate tourism engagement.

“Conversely, tourism can involve negative experiences that potentially lead to health problems, paralleling the process of promoting entropy increase. A prominent example is the public health crisis of COVID-19.”

Image credit: iStock.com/Svitlana Hulko