Does Traveling Age You?

The other day radio personality Howard Stern attributed much of the youth and longevity in his family to the lack of travel. The “shock jock” known for more outrageous statements claimed that radiation, stress, and germs among other things caused frequent travelers to grow older. I became very interested in the concept, since I’ve always held the belief that travel brings youth and vigor by stimulating the mind. I decided to put some of Howard Stern’s claims to the test to settle the argument one way or another. Radiation While In Flight Earth’s atmosphere protects us from solar, stellar, and magnetic radiation from the cosmos and is less dense the further we get from the surface. The logic goes that the higher up we are, the more radiation we are exposed to, damaging our cells and ultimately aging our bodies. A study [pdf] by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on pregnant women found that while flying does expose us to more radiation...