Forget retinol night creams – researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) believe travelling could be the best way to defy premature ageing.
For the first time, an interdisciplinary study has applied entropy theory to tourism and found that travel could have positive health benefits, including slowing the signs of aging.
Entropy is classified as the general tendency of the universe towards death and disorder. The entropy perspective suggests that tourism could trigger changes in entropy, where positive experiences could mitigate the increase in entropy and improve health, while negative experiences may contribute to the increase in entropy and compromise health.
“Aging, as a process, is irreversible. While it cannot be stopped, it can be slowed down,” said ECU doctoral candidate Fangli Hu.
Ms. Hu noted that positive travel experiences could improve people’s physical and mental well-being through exposure to new environments, participation in physical activities and social interaction, and the promotion of positive emotions. These potential benefits have been recognized through practices such as wellness tourism, health tourism, and yoga tourism.
“Tourism is not just about leisure and recreation. It can also contribute to people’s physical and mental health,” Ms Hu added.
Travel therapy: slowing down the clock
Travel therapy could serve as an innovative health intervention if viewed from an entropy perspective, he added. As an important aspect of the environment, positive travel experiences can help the body maintain a low-entropy state by modulating its four main systems.
Tourism often exposes people to new relaxing environments and activities, and novel environments can stimulate stress responses and elevate metabolic rates, thereby positively influencing metabolic activities and the body’s self-organizing capabilities. These contexts can also trigger an adaptive response of the immune system.
Ms Hu said this reaction enhances the body’s ability to perceive and defend itself against external threats.
“In short, the self-defense system becomes more resilient. Hormones can be released that promote tissue repair and regeneration and that support the functioning of the self-healing system.”
“Recreational activities can help relieve chronic stress, reduce overactivation of the immune system and stimulate the normal functioning of the self-defense system. Participating in recreational activities can release tension and fatigue in muscles and joints. This relief helps maintain the body’s metabolic balance and increases the effectiveness of the anti-wear system. Organs and tissues can thus remain in a state of low entropy,” Ms. Hu explained.
Travel includes physical activities such as hiking, climbing, walking, and cycling. Physical exertion can stimulate metabolism, energy expenditure, and material transformation, all of which help coordinate self-organizing systems.
“Participating in these activities could improve the body’s immune function and self-defense capabilities, strengthening its resistance to external hazards. Physical exercise can also improve blood circulation, accelerate nutrient transportation, and help waste removal to collectively maintain an active self-healing system. Moderate exercise is beneficial to bones, muscles, and joints, as well as supporting the body’s anti-wear system,” said Ms. Hu.
On the other hand, research has pointed out that tourists may face challenges such as infectious diseases, accidents, injuries, violence, water and food safety issues, and concerns related to inadequate tourist participation.
“On the contrary, tourism can involve negative experiences that can lead to health problems, in parallel with the process of promoting the increase in entropy. A prominent example is the COVID-19 public health crisis.”