Ever want to take a spontaneous trip somewhere fresh and head to the airport? According to Edith Cowan University researchers, the proposal might not be so outlandish after all. Travel therapy, like art or music therapy, is thought to be helpful for those with mental health problems.
The study examined how travel helps individuals with dementia
The goal of the research was to examine how travel and vacationing can help persons with dementia. The research team, a distinctive group of professionals in public health, tourism, and marketing, set out to do this.
Principal investigator Dr. Jun Wen said in a university release, “Medical experts can recommend dementia treatments such as music therapy, exercise, cognitive stimulation, reminiscence therapy, sensory stimulation and adaptations to a patient’s mealtimes and environment. These are all also often found when on holidays. This research is among the first to conceptually discuss how these tourism experiences could potentially work as dementia interventions.”
Dr. Wen asserts that there are numerous options to include therapies for mental health issues like dementia because of the large range of potential travel attractions and destinations available worldwide. One way to stimulate both the mind and the senses is to enter a new area and therefore have new experiences.
Exercises connected to improved mental health
Workout has been associated with improved mental health, and increased physical activity while traveling, like more walking, is common, according to the study’s author. Mealtimes are frequently different while you’re on vacation; they’re typically larger gatherings with several people, and family dinners have been demonstrated to have a good impact on the eating habits of dementia patients.
Then there are the fundamentals, like sunlight and fresh air, which raise serotonin and Vitamin D levels. It is simple to see how individuals with dementia could benefit from travel as an intervention when it comes to constituting a comprehensive tourism experience.
These findings seem particularly pertinent given the widespread worries the COVID-19 outbreak caused in many people. Dr. Wen added that tourism had been shown to improve physical and psychological well-being. After the pandemic, people can now travel, especially vulnerable groups.
