Dying to book your next trip? Then go on and live a little.
Travel can delay the aging process and improve physical and mental health, a new study published in the Journal of Travel Research found.
Researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia conducted what is believed to be the first study to apply the theory of entropy – the universe’s general tendency towards death and disorder – to tourism.
“Aging, as a process, is irreversible. While it cannot be stopped, it can be slowed down,” said ECU doctoral candidate Fangli Hu in a press release.
The team found that the positive physical and mental health benefits of travel – such as exercise and relaxation – help the body slow down the signs of ageing.
And the results can last much longer than your tan.
Trips that include active experiences such as walking or swimming encourage people to move and enjoy the many known benefits of exercise.
Meanwhile, free travel can reduce chronic stress, slow down an overactive immune system, and encourage normal functioning of the immune system, which in turn can allow the body to reach a low-entropy state.
“Tourism is not only about leisure and recreation. It can also contribute to people’s physical and mental health,” Hu said, noting that the opposite is also true.
To put it simply, “positive experiences can moderate entropy increases and improve health, while negative experiences can contribute to entropy increases and endanger health.”
In response to their study, the experts suggested that “travel therapy may serve as a novel health intervention.”
The discovery comes as adults are more stressed about aging than ever and people continue to book health trips.
Almost half of women (47%) say aging causes them stress – more so than millennials (57%) and Gen Z (56%). Meanwhile, some men – are going to extreme lengths to slow down the aging process.
So instead of scheduling your next Botox or stem cell injection, maybe just book a flight.
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