A few years ago I was walking with friends through temperate rainforest in western Scotland. The day after a storm. We came across a young seabird sitting on the bank of a swollen river, a waterfall crashing into it behind the bird. It didn’t belong there. None of us spoke. That feeling is called awe. And it has real effects on your health.
What Happens in Your Body During Awe
Stand at the edge of the sea or the top of a hill and something happens in your body. Your heart rate shifts, your breathing changes, and you feel smaller yet more connected to everything around you. These are measurable physiological responses.
Awe appears to reduce levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, the immune markers linked to chronic conditions including heart disease. The evidence so far suggests your body responds to wonder in ways that matter for long-term health.
The Mental Health Benefits
Awe changes how your brain processes your immediate situation. The work deadline that felt urgent. The difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding. After a moment of awe, these tend to shrink in perceived importance. Is that just distraction? The evidence suggests it’s a specific cognitive shift: you grasp that your problems are small against a larger backdrop.
In moments of awe, rumination quietens. The evidence suggests this supports greater peace of mind over time, interrupting cycles of negative thinking and improving mood. Gratitude and a broader sense of life satisfaction tend to follow.
Finding Awe in Everyday Life
Nobody walks into a GP appointment asking for more awe. But a lot of the people I see who feel flat or directionless describe the same thing: a disconnection from anything beyond the daily grind. That state has a straightforward fix, and it doesn’t cost anything.
Ordinary life contains more awe than most of us notice. The gap is attention. Put yourself in its way more often and you’ve done most of the work.
Simple Starting Points
The sky changes every day and most of us walk under it without a glance. On a spring morning, birds are calling to each other across gardens and parks. Most people walk straight past it. Your local park or back garden is enough – you don’t need a national park. A spider’s web, the texture of bark, a seed sprouting on the windowsill. Any of these can stop you if you let them.
The Awe Walk
An awe walk is a regular walk with one change: you go out with the intention of noticing. Look for morning light through leaves, the way wind moves through branches, the texture of things you pass every day. Vary the route to keep it from becoming automatic.
No Time for a Walk
A few minutes is enough. Queue up a piece of music that gives you chills, or watch a time-lapse of plant growth during a break. Sitting with a piece of art that stops you has the same effect. Regular and small beats occasional and grand.
Before a Hard Task
Before a difficult meeting or a piece of work you’ve been putting off, take a brief awe break. Step outside and look at the tallest thing you can see. Watch a short nature clip. The evidence suggests these moments support creative thinking and help you handle pressure better. A wider perspective makes the immediate problem look more manageable.
Awe and Long-Term Health
We tend to think about health as diet, exercise, and medical check-ups. I wouldn’t claim the evidence for awe is at that level. But stacked on top of decent sleep and regular movement, it has more going for it than I’d have expected. It appears to reduce inflammation, help prevent burnout, ease anxiety, and support mood. Small moments, accumulated over time.
I see this in patients who’ve built it into their routine:
- Daily stress and mood both feel more stable
- Sleep improves
- A stronger sense of connection to other people
- Time feels less frantic
- Noticing beauty in unexpected places
- Less self-absorption, more perspective
Where to Start
Awe is free and has no side effects. Thirty seconds listening to birds calling to each other on a spring morning, or giving full attention to a piece of music that stops you. Those moments accumulate.
Start with thirty seconds. Go from there.
