The Anti-Ageing Benefits of Travel
Forget the wrinkle creams and kale smoothies. If you really want to stay young, start packing your bags. Travelling isn’t just about sightseeing—it’s a full-on youth serum disguised as an epic adventure.
Why jet-setting and jaw-dropping sights are more effective and beneficial than Botox:
- Travelling Boosts Creativity Travel exposes you to new landscapes, architecture, art, and traditions, which can inspire your creativity. These new experiences encourage divergent thinking, helping you approach problems with fresh, innovative solutions.
- It Builds Emotional Resilience When you travel, things don’t always go as planned. Facing unexpected challenges, such as language barriers or finding your way in a new city, teaches you how to adapt and stay calm under pressure. Building emotional resilience helps reduce stress and keeps you youthful and adaptable.
- It Facilitates Mindfulness Traveling invites you to be fully present in the moment, whether you’re watching a sunset or enjoying a local delicacy. Practices like walking meditation, which I incorporate in my Camino de Santiago hiking adventures, help travellers slow down and appreciate their surroundings, promoting mindfulness, which has been shown to prolong cognitive youth.
- It Strengthens your Immune System Being exposed to different environments and microorganisms helps diversify your body’s immune response. While this doesn’t mean you will never get sick, regular travel can bolster your immune system by introducing it to new challenges, ultimately making it more robust and resilient.
- It Increases Longevity!!! Several studies suggest that people who travel frequently live longer. This could be due to a combination of factors such as reduced stress, increased physical activity, social interaction, and mental stimulation. The joy and excitement of discovering new places can also add to a sense of fulfilment, which is essential for a long, happy life.
- Travelling Stimulates the Brain Travel provides constant opportunities to challenge and engage your brain. Whether you’re navigating an unfamiliar city, learning a few phrases in a new language, or assimilating cultural differences, these novel experiences stimulate cognitive function. This mental exercise keeps your brain active and agile, which is crucial for long-term cognitive health. In fact, regularly stepping out of your comfort zone can enhance memory and problem-solving skills, helping you stay sharp and youthful.
- It Promotes Physical Health Many forms of travel naturally incorporate physical activity—whether it’s walking through a vibrant city, hiking in nature, or exploring historical landmarks. This movement improves cardiovascular health, boosts energy levels, and helps maintain flexibility and strength. My Camino de Santiago walking retreats, for example, provide a perfect balance of gentle, sustained activity that promotes both physical fitness and a deeper connection with your body, which can contribute to a more youthful physique.
- It Reduces Stress Breaking away from the stress of daily life is one of the most rejuvenating aspects of travel. Changing your environment and routine allows your mind to relax, reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can otherwise age both body and mind. Whether you’re unwinding in a peaceful, natural setting or simply enjoying new experiences, travel offers an opportunity to reset, refresh, and reduce the mental and emotional load that can accumulate over time.
- It Fosters Social Connections While travel offers a sense of independence, it also provides opportunities for meaningful social interactions, whether with fellow travellers or locals. Engaging with others in new, stimulating environments can boost emotional well-being and even extend your lifespan. For introverts, the small, intimate groups in my retreats offer a comfortable setting to connect without feeling overwhelmed, enhancing a sense of belonging, which contributes to overall happiness and a youthful spirit.
- It Shifts Your Perspective Travel allows you to see the world from new angles, providing valuable perspective shifts that keep your mind adaptable. Encountering different cultures, lifestyles, and viewpoints broadens your understanding of the world and makes you more open-minded. This kind of mental flexibility is often associated with youth, as it encourages curiosity and a willingness to learn, helping you approach life’s challenges with fresh insight.
- It Ignites Personal Growth Every trip is a chance to grow. Travel pushes you to step outside your routine, often leading to moments of self-discovery. Especially during life transitions, travel can offer clarity and direction, helping you reassess your priorities and discover new passions. In my From Troubled to Triumphant: How to Find Solid Ground during a Life Quake Transformational retreats, this sense of exploration encourages personal growth, helping people reconnect with their purpose, which fosters a youthful sense of renewal and vitality.
These aspects of travel—mental stimulation, physical activity, stress reduction, social interaction, perspective shifts, and personal growth—work together to rejuvenate your mind, body and probably your soul too, keeping you feeling vibrantly alive, energised, and resilient. So, if you’re serious about staying young, stop Googling “anti-ageing hacks” and start planning your next trip.
As a retreat leader, I have seen the anti-ageing effects of travelling firsthand in my retreat participants. There is no upper age limit to the attendance of my retreats, the oldest guest I had was an 84-year-old writer, on one of my Walking and Writing retreats. As all my retreat activities are optional, it was up to her to decide if she wanted to do the Camino de Santiago walks and interact with the horses. She chose to do two of the Camino walks and thoroughly enjoyed herself. She was a bit stiff the day after the second walk, but took it all in her stride (pun intended.) Same with the mindfulness and meditation with horses activities – I suggested various options to her and she chose which activities she wanted to engage in. She said afterwards that she felt an instant connection with Tooske, one of my Friesian mares, whose dark eyes mirrored back a peace that she hadn’t felt since… well, she couldn’t remember when. She breathed with the mare, grounding herself, and for the first time in months, she felt her shoulders, riddled with arthritis, relax. Although she did not come up against ageism at my retreat, she shared that it had happened when she travelled in the past.
Travelling might well have anti-ageing benefits, as long as ageism doesn’t prevent older people from travelling.
How Ageism prevents Older Tourists from benefitting from the Anti-Ageing Effects of Travel
Ageism can cast a shadow on the travel experiences of older adults, impacting everything from activity options to social interactions.
One of the common ways ageism surfaces in tourism is through stereotyping and prejudice. Many older travellers report instances where tourism providers assume they won’t be interested in—or capable of—certain activities. This stereotyping can result in patronising behaviour or dismissive attitudes, which in turn may severely affect an older traveller’s enjoyment.
Experiencing ageism can chip away at self-esteem, affecting how older adults perceive themselves and their place in the world. If age-based assumptions persist, travellers may start to feel self-conscious or avoid participating in activities, diminishing their travelling experiences.
Another serious aspect of ageism in travel is its impact on health and safety concerns. Ageist attitudes can mean that the needs of older adults are overlooked, leading to a lack of thoughtful planning or accommodations that do not take older tourists’ physical or health-related needs into account. This oversight can add unnecessary stress or even put travellers at risk, undermining what should be an enriching and beneficial experience (as detailed in the first half of this article.
These issues don’t just affect how older adults feel during their travels; they can also influence travel behaviour. The perception or anticipation of ageism can create hesitation to travel or lead to the avoidance of destinations perceived as unwelcoming. In some cases, older travellers may limit social interactions, missing out on the cultural connections that make travel special. This hesitancy can impact their destination choices, preventing them from fully experiencing the anti-ageing benefits of travel.
Ultimately, the psychological effects of ageism—whether felt in subtle or direct ways—can increase travel-related stress levels and even lead to internalised stereotypes.
Bit of a catch-22, it seems.
By developing more inclusive and age-friendly travel options, the industry can ensure that all travellers, regardless of age, can explore the world in a way that feels safe, invigorating and rejuvenating.
We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.― Pico Iyer
Research
While several studies suggest the potential benefits of travel on ageing and health, they do not yet provide conclusive proof that travelling directly keeps people young. Many of the proposed benefits are indirect, stemming from factors like increased physical activity, social interaction, and exposure to new experiences that often accompany travel. Additionally, the impact of travel on ageing likely varies significantly based on the type of travel, individual health status, and other lifestyle factors. More direct, long-term studies comparing travellers to non-travellers would be needed to establish a stronger scientific link between travel and slowed ageing.
Ageism in tourism is a recognised issue affecting both older travellers’ experiences and industry practices. Research has focused on understanding the causes of ageism, its impacts on senior tourists, and potential interventions to create more inclusive tourism experiences.
A study by Kökény et al. (2023) introduced the concept of “ageism in tourism” and empirically tested it using intergroup contact theory. They explored factors that cause young people to display ageist attitudes toward older tourists, finding that contact quality with older adults impacts ageism in tourism. The study recommended educational and intergenerational contact interventions to reduce ageism in the tourism industry.
Przybysz et al. examined tourism-related needs in the context of seniors’ living and social conditions. They discussed how health concerns and negative stereotypes can impact seniors’ participation in tourism. The study emphasized the importance of counteracting age-related stereotypes and stigmatization to encourage senior tourism.
Author Bio: Dr Margaretha Montagu – described as a “game changer”, “gifted healer”, “guiding light” and “life-enriching author” – is an experienced medical doctor, a certified NLP practitioner, a medical hypnotherapist, an equine-assisted psychotherapist (EAGALAcertified) and a transformational retreat leader who guides her clients through life transitions – virtually, or with the assistance of her Friesian and Falabella horses, at their home in the southwest of France.
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