Traveling further from home can make you feel healthier: study

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The simple fact of traveling can make people feel betterbut research suggests that among the farther the displacementthe healthier travelers can feel.

A new study led by researchers at University College London reveals that lPeople who travel further from their locality feel healthier than those who stay closer to home.

As explained in the investigation, the frequency of travel and variety of places visited they are important in determining the degree of health felt by travelers.

Those who regularly travel more than 24 kilometers from home have more likely to say they are in good health generally.

Those who travel to more varied places have more likely to see friends and family. This increased social participation is also related to better health.

Limitations to travel can affect the perception of health

The researchers say the results demonstrate the need to invest in medium and long distance transportation optionssuch as roads with better services and access to trains and buses.

For the article, published in Transport & Healththe researchers looked at commuting in the north of England, where residents face worse health outcomes than in the rest of England and many rural and suburban areas suffer from poor transport accessibility.

Specific, studied the relationship between perceived limitations to travel outside the local areasuch as lack of adequate public transport, and self-assessment of health, taking into account the frequency of travel, the number of different places visited, the distance travelled, the use of the car and public transport.

“We expected to find that the restrictions on travel by lack of access to adequate public transportation or a private car would be related to residents’ perception of their health due to lack of social participation,” said Dr. Paulo Anciaes, from UCL’s Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources and lead author of the study.

Upon analysis, the researchers found that the key variable is the number of different places people visit outside their local areawhich is related to greater social participation and better health.

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