Lesser Known Reasons Why You Should Travel More When You’re Young and Not Old

It is far more complicated and goes beyond mobility and cognition issues.

Courtesy of Imagine AI

I was too busy becoming a doctor, making a living, and raising a family. While my college friends were backpacking through Europe, I worked in a rat lab studying cholesterol synthesis (or how fats are made). Since I retired in 2015, I have traveled more, and it’s been memorable. However, I now find it to be more complicated and less fun. The reason is baggage and not the emotional kind.

I can pack fewer clothes now as I am not as consumed by my appearance. But here is an incomplete list of what else I must bring.

• Nightime wrist splint for my carpal tunnel.
• Portable CPAP machine for my sleep apnea.
• Bite block for my nocturnal teeth grinding.
• Hearing aids with rechargeable holder and extra replacement earpiece parts.
• Foot and ankle splint in case my plantar fascitis acts up.
• Extra pills if the trip gets unexpectedly extended due to bad weather and airline inefficiencies.
• Emergency pills for worsening of my Crohn’s colitis.
• My life’s extensive dental work has left me…