It’s always been said that travel was good for your mental health. Now researchers say it could be the best way to defy premature ageing.
A study by Edith Cowan University (ECU) has applied the theory of entropy to tourism, finding that travel could have positive health benefits, including slowing down the signs of ageing.
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, while negative experiences may contribute to entropy increase and compromise health.
“Ageing, as a process, is irreversible. While it can’t be stopped, it can be slowed down,” said Ms Fangli Hu, ECU PhD candidate.
Ms 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,” Ms Hu added.
Travel therapy could serve as a ground breaking health intervention when viewed through an entropy lens, she added.
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.
Ms 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.”
The Principle of Entropy Increase: A Novel View of How Tourism Influences Human Health was published in the Journal of Travel Research earlier this year.
