The science of awe explains something many of us have felt without knowing why. You step outside at the end of a difficult day, and the sky has turned a deep orange and pink that stretches further than you can take in at once. For a few seconds, your racing thoughts pause. Your shoulders drop slightly. Whatever was occupying your mind a moment ago feels, briefly, smaller.
This is not just a pleasant aesthetic experience. It reflects measurable physiological changes in the body, with real benefits for stress, inflammation, and overall nervous system regulation.
This article explains what awe actually is, what happens in the body when you experience it, and how to deliberately build more of it into your daily life.
What awe actually is
Researchers define awe as the emotion that arises when you encounter something vast — physically, conceptually, or experientially — that exceeds your current understanding and requires you to adjust your mental framework to accommodate it.
This definition explains why such a wide range of experiences can trigger awe: a sunset, a starry sky, an enormous landscape, a piece of music, witnessing extraordinary human skill or kindness, or even contemplating an idea larger than yourself. What unites these experiences is a sense of vastness combined with a need to mentally accommodate something beyond your everyday frame of reference.
Psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt, who conducted some of the foundational research on awe, identified it as a distinct emotion with its own measurable physiological and psychological signature, separate from related but different states such as happiness or excitement.
What happens in the body during awe
The physiological effects of awe are where the science of awe becomes particularly relevant to physical and mental health, not just subjective experience.
Reduced activity in the default mode network
The default mode network is a set of brain regions active during self-referential thinking — rumination, worry, and the ongoing internal narrative about yourself and your problems. Research using brain imaging shows that awe experiences reduce activity in this network, producing a temporary quieting of self-focused thought.
This is part of why awe often produces a felt sense of the self becoming smaller or less central, sometimes described as feeling like a small part of something larger. This shift away from self-focused rumination is itself therapeutic for anxiety and depressive thought patterns.
Lowered inflammatory markers
A notable study from the University of California, Berkeley found that people who reported experiencing more frequent positive emotions characterised by awe, wonder, and curiosity had lower levels of interleukin-6, an inflammatory marker linked to chronic disease, depression, and cardiovascular risk. This finding suggests awe may have a measurable anti-inflammatory effect through its influence on the body’s stress response.
Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system
Awe appears to shift the body toward parasympathetic dominance — the rest-and-digest state that counters the sympathetic fight-or-flight response activated by stress. This shows up physiologically as slowed heart rate and reduced markers of physiological arousal during and immediately after an awe experience.
Reduced cortisol
Several studies measuring cortisol before and after awe-inducing experiences, such as viewing vast natural landscapes, have found measurable reductions in this primary stress hormone. This provides a direct biological link between awe and reduced physiological stress.
Improved mood and life satisfaction
Beyond the immediate physiological effects, people who experience awe more frequently in daily life consistently report higher life satisfaction, more positive mood, and a greater sense of meaning, according to research tracking awe experiences over time using daily diary methods.
Why awe specifically helps the nervous system
The nervous system benefits of awe connect to several underlying mechanisms working together.
It interrupts chronic stress activation
Chronic stress keeps the sympathetic nervous system activated for extended periods, contributing to the wide range of physical health consequences associated with prolonged stress. Awe experiences appear to interrupt this pattern, even briefly, shifting the body toward the parasympathetic state needed for recovery and repair.
It reduces the self-focus that fuels anxiety and rumination
Anxiety and rumination both involve intense self-focused attention — worry about your own situation, your own performance, your own future. By temporarily quieting the brain network responsible for this self-referential processing, awe provides genuine relief from the mental loop that sustains chronic anxiety.
It promotes a sense of connection
Many awe experiences, particularly those involving nature or witnessing human goodness, produce an accompanying sense of connection to something larger than yourself — other people, nature, or humanity broadly. This sense of connection counters the isolation that often accompanies chronic stress and is independently linked to better physical and mental health outcomes.
How to experience more awe in daily life
You do not need access to extraordinary landscapes or rare events to benefit from the science of awe. Research on awe in everyday life suggests it is more accessible, and more frequent, than most people assume.
Watch the sky deliberately
Sunrises, sunsets, and cloud formations are freely available sources of awe in almost any location. The key is deliberate attention rather than a passing glance — taking even two or three minutes to genuinely watch, rather than simply registering that a sunset is happening while doing something else.
Spend time in nature, even briefly
Research consistently links time in nature, particularly environments that involve some sense of scale or vastness — forests, mountains, open water, or large skies — to increased awe and its associated benefits. Even urban green spaces, parks, or large old trees can produce a meaningful awe response.
Seek out vastness intentionally
Looking up at a clear night sky, standing at the edge of a large body of water, or visiting a viewpoint with an expansive vista are reliable awe triggers because they directly engage the sense of vastness that defines the emotion.
Engage with art, music, or extraordinary human achievement
Awe is not limited to nature. Powerful music, moving art, or witnessing extraordinary skill or kindness in other people can trigger the same psychological and physiological signature. Building moments of genuine engagement with these experiences — rather than passive background consumption — increases their awe-inducing potential.
Practise what researchers call awe walks
An awe walk involves deliberately walking somewhere with the specific intention of noticing vastness, novelty, and beauty, rather than walking as a default, distracted activity. Research on this specific practice has found it increases positive emotion and reduces self-focused distress more than ordinary walks, even over relatively short periods of regular practice.
For more on how chronic stress affects the body when left unaddressed, read our article on Inflammation 101: How to Know if You Have It and What to Eat Next.
Notice awe in small, everyday moments
While grand experiences reliably trigger awe, research also shows that everyday moments — witnessing an act of kindness, noticing intricate detail in something ordinary, or experiencing a sudden shift in perspective — can produce a meaningful, if smaller, version of the same response. Training attention to notice these moments, rather than only seeking grand experiences, makes awe a more sustainable daily practice.
Building awe into a stressful or busy life
For people managing significant stress, finding time for awe can feel like an additional demand rather than genuine relief. A few practical approaches help integrate it without requiring substantial extra time:
- pair an existing daily activity, such as a commute or a coffee break, with deliberate attention to the sky or surrounding environment, rather than adding an entirely new activity
- use a few minutes at the actual moment of sunset or sunrise, which requires no additional travel and fits into most daily schedules
- keep a brief, ongoing note of small awe moments noticed during the day, which both builds the habit of noticing and provides a record to reflect on during harder periods
- treat awe as a legitimate stress management tool rather than a luxury, given the genuine physiological evidence behind its effects
When awe alone is not enough
Awe is a genuinely beneficial, evidence-supported practice, but it works best as one part of a broader approach to stress and nervous system regulation rather than a standalone solution for significant mental health difficulties.
Seek professional support if:
- chronic stress, anxiety, or low mood persists despite incorporating awe and other self-care practices consistently
- you find yourself unable to access positive emotion or engagement with experiences that previously felt meaningful
- physical symptoms of chronic stress, such as persistent fatigue, digestive issues, or frequent illness, continue despite lifestyle changes
- you notice signs of depression or anxiety that significantly affect daily functioning
A therapist or doctor can help address underlying conditions that simple lifestyle practices, however beneficial, are not designed to treat on their own.
The Greater Good Science Center’s research overview on awe provides further detail on the psychological and physiological research behind this emotion.
Key Takeaways
- The science of awe shows that experiences of vastness, including sunsets, nature, and extraordinary human achievement, produce measurable physiological benefits.
- Awe reduces activity in the brain’s default mode network, quieting the self-focused rumination that fuels chronic anxiety.
- Research links frequent awe experiences to lower inflammatory markers, reduced cortisol, and increased parasympathetic nervous system activity.
- Awe is accessible through everyday practices including deliberate sky-watching, time in nature, engagement with art and music, and dedicated awe walks.
- Small, everyday moments of awe can be cultivated through deliberate attention, not just grand or rare experiences.
- Awe works best as part of a broader stress management approach rather than a standalone solution for significant mental health difficulties.
- Persistent stress, anxiety, or low mood despite consistent self-care practices warrants professional support.
Conclusion
The moment of pausing to watch a sunset is not simply a nice pause in a busy day. The science of awe reveals genuine physiological changes underlying that experience — a quieter mind, a calmer nervous system, and measurable reductions in the stress markers that accumulate during chronic pressure.
You do not need rare or extraordinary circumstances to access these benefits. A sky available every evening, a walk taken with deliberate attention, or a few minutes of genuine engagement with something larger than your immediate concerns can produce real, measurable relief for a nervous system that has been working hard for too long.
The next sunset is coming, regardless of how the day has gone. Take the few minutes it offers.
Medical Disclaimer: The information on this page is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. It should not replace consultation with a qualified healthcare professional. For full details, please read our Disclaimer.
