Travel Therapy Theory

Summer and vacation season are nearly here. A recent paper proposes a theory that travel and tourism can improve health and slow aging.

Entropy is a universal principle describing the progression from order to disorder. Entropy is a law of thermodynamics where when a system moves toward a more organized state, entropy is lower, but entropy increases as the system devolves toward greater disorder.

In health science, entropy is the general trend of aging, deterioration of health, and eventually death. While aging cannot be stopped, it can be slowed down.

Travel therapy to slow entropy is a new theory, but tourism could be a positive health intervention when viewed from an entropy perspective.

Negative travel experiences could increase entropy and health problems. Challenges when traveling include the risk of accidents, injuries, food and water safety problems, and exposure to infectious diseases.

Positive travel experiences could decrease entropy and improve mental and physical health. Satisfying travel provides “exposure to novel environments, engagement in physical activities and social interaction, and the fostering of positive emotions.”

There are four core components in the body that protect against increased entropy:

• Self-organizing, which includes the respiratory, digestive, and cardiovascular systems;

• Self-defense, which is the immune system;

• Self-healing, which includes cell repair, tissue regeneration, and wound-healing; and

• Anti-wear-and-tear, which is the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits such as nutritious eating, exercise, adequate sleep, and stress management.

Travel therapy could improve these core components through exposure to new surroundings and novel food, participation in both relaxing and invigorating activities, increased social connection, enhanced immune system resilience, and stress reduction from travel to blue and green natural landscapes.

Takeaway: Tourism and travel are often part of a healthy lifestyle, which supports the theory that they can slow the aging process.

Sources

Edith Cowan University, Travel could be the best defense against aging | ScienceDaily, Sept. 5, 2024.

Fangli Hu, et al., The Principle of Entropy Increase: A Novel View of How Tourism Influences Human Health - Fangli Hu, Jun Wen, Danni Zheng, Tianyu Ying, Haifeng Hou, Wei Wang, 2025, Aug. 8, 2024.