On your next trip, you can leave behind the anti-aging serums and books of brain teasers. According to a new published study by researchers at Edith Cowan University in Australia, travel itself can keep you young. The positive experiences associated with trips — the social interactions, mental stimulation, physical activity and healthy cuisines — can delay the aging process, the scientists say.
In the Edith Cowan study, which Science Daily published earlier this month, the experts wanted to find out how positive travel experiences help maintain the human body’s “low entropy,” or gradual decline. “Tourism isn’t just about leisure and recreation,” Fangli Hu, the study’s principal researcher, told The Washington Post on a Zoom call from Australia. “It also plays an important role in individual health and public health.
” In the theoretical study, part of a multiyear, interdisciplinary project that will include empirical data, researchers noted that many of the lifestyle practices espoused by medical and mental health experts are intrinsic to travel, such as social engagement, appreciating nature, walking or other types of exercise, and nutritious meals. Immersing yourself in a novel destination, the study reports, can slow the aging process. “Environments, especially beautiful landscapes like forests or beaches, can help us reduce stress and boost our mental well-being and promote physical activity,” Hu said.
“Exposure to other tourists, locals or even.