Mental Health News
A group of researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) explored the benefits of travel therapy. The conceptual effort is published in the journal Tourism Management.
The Study
A cross-disciplinary team of tourism, public health, and marketing experts critically reviewed tourism and dementia literature. They also addressed pertinent knowledge gaps between tourism and health science. They presented tourism as a non-pharmacological intervention to improve dementia patients’ mental health and well-being.
The Findings
The results revealed the benefits of travel as therapy. In fact, it was found that multiple aspects of holidays help mental health. For instance, traveling through new environments and gaining new experiences provide cognitive and sensory stimulation. Traveling involves a great deal of walking, fresh air, and sunshine—factors that contribute to robust physical health.
Elaborating on how travel therapy can cure dementia, one of the lead researchers, Dr. Jun Wen, explained: “Mealtimes are often different on holiday: they’re usually more social affairs with multiple people and family-style meals have been found to positively influence dementia patients’ eating behavior.”
Despite a promising conclusion, the researchers look to further research when it comes to formulating travel-related medical interventions for different diseases like dementia or depression.
To Know More You May Refer To
Wen, J., Zheng, D., Hou, H., Phau, I., & Wang, W. Tourism as a dementia treatment based on positive psychology. Tourism Management, 2022; 92: 104556 DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2022.104556
