Book that holiday, it’s good for your health

There’s no doubt that jetting off to Europe will fill your heart with treasured memories: sipping an espresso while people-watching in Rome, or meandering the streets of Santorini as the Aegean glitters in the background.

But travelling isn’t just about having a fabulous time in another location. As a paper from Edith Cowan University proposes, we should change our thinking about tourism. Rather than seeing it as simply “recreational”, the paper’s authors want us to view tourism as an industry bursting with health benefits, making “travel therapy” akin to other remedies such as music therapy and art therapy.

Travelling isn’t just about lapping up the wonders of the world. It can also be therapeutic, Evelyn Lewin discovers.Credit: Stocksy

Lead researcher Dr Jun Wen says travelling can benefit people with dementia. “Exercise has been linked to mental wellbeing, and travelling often involves enhanced physical activity, such as more walking,” Wen explains. “Mealtimes are often different on holiday: they’re more social affairs with multiple people, and family-style meals have been found to positively influence dementia patients’ eating behaviour.

“Then there are the basics, like fresh air and sunshine increasing vitamin D and serotonin levels. Everything that comes together to represent a holistic tourism experience shows how patients with dementia may benefit from tourism as an intervention.”

Marc Cohen, a medical doctor and professor of natural medicine, echoes these sentiments, but adds that people with memory issues need to keep safety in mind while travelling; for example, by being accompanied by a carer. “The currency of wellness is connection,” he says, adding that when travelling you connect more deeply with yourself, your companions and the world around you. Travelling helps you to learn about yourself, Cohen explains, by offering an opportunity to “reassess and re-evaluate” your likes and dislikes. Asking yourself what you want to do on your trip, and what is worth paying for and spending your time on, can help you nut out your values. “That enquiry itself is really powerful because you become more connected with your own needs, desires, and learning. And that improves overall wellbeing.”

You’re also likely to form deeper connections with travel companions. Cohen says creating shared experiences, especially those that are profound or pleasurable, “add enormously” to relationships, bringing families, couples and friends closer together.

Travel can also improve physical health. Cohen attributes this to a phenomenon called the vacation effect: “When you travel, you break out of your usual lifestyle and routine. This represents an opportunity to break unhealthy patterns.”

You’re also more likely to step outside your comfort zone when travelling by sampling different cuisines, trying your hand at new activities or dipping your toes in a new language.

But you don’t have to jet off to Europe or break the bank to benefit from travelling. “Travel doesn’t have to be to some exotic location on the other side of the world,” notes Cohen.

He says you can travel in your own city by going to new places: check out a park, go on a hike, do a guided tour, or simply explore a neighbourhood you haven’t visited before. “Travelling just means temporarily breaking free of familiar locations and routines, expanding your comfort zone and experiencing new things.”

Evelyn Lewin is a qualified GP and freelance writer.

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