Travel beats 'premature ageing'?

Travel could be the best defense against ageing. Forget about retinol night creams, researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU) believe travel could be the best way to defy premature ageing.”

This title and lead statement certainly hit all our buttons. Who doesn’t want to travel, or need another excuse to do it? Research from a university should be beyond reproach, right? Plus, who could resist reading about the best way of defying premature aging?

The above quotes are from a September 5, 2024 release by Edith Cowan University’s Newsroom in Research. The paper refers to an interdisciplinary study led by Ms Fangli Hu, a PhD candidate at an Australian university. Articles on the study immediately appeared everywhere from The Washington Post to Science Daily to Yahoo. Okay ECU, you’ve got my attention, but what specifically did your study discover about travel that is so astonishingly special or unique it would justify the claim that travel could be the best way to defy aging prematurely? The spidey hairs on my neck were at full alert as I read the second paragraph of the ECU’s release, which stated, “For the first time, an interdisciplinary study has applied the theory of entropy (the general trend of the universe toward disorder) to tourism, finding that travel ….”.

Whoa, hold on a minute. Now we’ve moved on to tourism rather than travel. Not sure a trip to Caesar’s Palace equates to a hike in the Scottish highlands for anti-ageing benefits.

The ECU paper proceeds to state that positive travel experiences such as engaging new environments, social interaction, and positive emotions are mentally beneficial. Ms Hu follows this with examples of tourism that include hiking, walking and cycling while travelling; suggesting such activities improve blood circulation, boost metabolism and enhance the body’s immune system.

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

With all due respect to ECU, we’re in Captain Obvious territory here. Students learn this stuff in Grade 9 health classes. The report also concludes that negative tourism experiences such as accidents, violence, water and food safety issues, can lead to potential health problems which promote entropy increase—code for premature aging. This result just happened to be missed in the article’s title and preamble.

With all due respect to ECU, we’re in Captain Obvious territory here

At the end of the their news release, ECU does include a link to the full study, which was published in the Journal of Travel Research by the Travel and Tourism Research Association, with credits to Fangli Hu, June Wen and their crew, 27 days before the university released it themselves.

The irony, in my opinion, is that Ms Hu’s study fails to prove any need to travel in order to defy what she labels as premature aging. Its generalized equivocation of health benefits and decelerated ageing or negative entropy is simplistic, built upon the idea that any health benefit will reduce ageing.

What the study does do is allude to many of the most basic lifestyle activities we can adopt to achieve good mental and physical wellbeing, how those choices promote good health, and which activities to stay away from. Whether we view them in the context of travel experiences or less expensive and more accessible local pursuits is up to us.

The study differentiates wellness tourism, health tourism, and yoga tourism from “Travel therapy,” a broader term which Ms Hu says focuses on travel experiences which help the body sustain an overall low-entropy state. She claims travel activities might reduce chronic stress, prevent over-activation of the immune system, and help our body’s self-defense system become more resilient. If physical activity is involved in one’s travel, our ability to fight muscle fatigue and our resistance to joint wear-and-tear may improve, as would blood circulation, nutrient transport and waste elimination.

Unfortunately for the Travel and Tourism Association, a long walk down the Gerry Berkhout Trail, or along the Escarpment’s Bruce Trail, will do the same. Walk the Berkhout Trail in the dark, alone, with a camper’s headlight affixed to your forehead, listening for the cries of a nearby coyote. You’ll be so involved in the moment that chronic stress will disappear. Or choose the slightly more remote and rocky Bruce Trail instead. Your metabolism will increase, and your body’s “self-organizing capabilities”, as Ms Hu calls them, will be forced to improve quickly.

Walk either trail in the winter, fresh snow blowing all around, and your self-defense system will engage, releasing hormones ready to defend you against the cold and any injuries it might cause. Walk the Berkhout Trail on a sunny fall weekend and bravely engage the strangers you pass. The result may not be as stimulating as navigating the metro in Budapest, but it may take you out of your comfort zone, with all the mental benefits that the experience provides.

Walk the Bruce Trail at Beamer Conservation Area during a Hawkwatch sunrise, binoculars and bird-identifying field guide in hand, and each sighting will provide an instant thrill. There are certainly benefits to travel, and this column has previously detailed many of them. There are times, however, when a new activity or social pursuit can provide similar advantages within a schedule or budget that allows one to stay local.

Sorry Edith Cowan University, but I’m a little skeptical of this one.