Why Awe May Be One of the Most Underrated Wellness Tools of All
In the wellness world, we talk endlessly about sleep, nutrition, exercise, meditation and stress management. Yet one of the most powerful drivers of human wellbeing may be something far less obvious: awe.
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By Maya Boyd
Awe is that feeling that stops us in our tracks. It arrives unexpectedly when standing beneath a mountain range, watching a meteor shower, hearing a piece of music that feels impossibly beautiful or witnessing an act of extraordinary human kindness. It is the sensation that the world is somehow larger, stranger and more interconnected than we had remembered.
For decades, awe was largely ignored by scientists. Today, researchers such as Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, have helped establish it as one of the most fascinating emotions in human psychology. Far from being a fleeting luxury, awe appears to have measurable effects on the brain, nervous system, immune function and mental health. The evidence suggests it may be one of the most powerful and accessible wellbeing tools we possess.
1. Awe literally changes the body
When we experience awe, something remarkable happens physiologically.
Research suggests that awe increases activity in the vagus nerve, the major communication highway between the brain and body. The vagus nerve helps regulate heart rate, digestion, inflammation and our ability to move out of fight-or-flight mode and into a state of calm restoration.
At the same time, awe is associated with reduced sympathetic nervous system activation, meaning the body’s stress response begins to soften. Studies have also linked awe to lower levels of inflammatory markers, particularly interleukin-6 (IL-6), a molecule associated with chronic disease, ageing and stress-related illness. Among positive emotions, awe appears to be one of the strongest predictors of lower inflammation.
Some forms of awe are also linked to increased oxytocin release, the hormone involved in trust, bonding and social connection.
In short, awe is not simply a feeling.
It is a whole-body state.
2. Awe quiets the part of the brain that won’t stop talking
Modern life is dominated by self-focus.
We worry about our inboxes, our finances, our appearance, our productivity and our future. Much of this mental chatter is associated with a collection of brain regions known as the default mode network.
The default mode network becomes active when we are ruminating, replaying the past, worrying about the future or obsessing over ourselves. While useful, overactivity in this network has also been linked to anxiety, depression and excessive self-focus.
One of the most intriguing findings in awe research is that awe appears to quiet this network. Brain imaging studies show reduced activity in key regions of the default mode network during awe experiences.
For a brief moment, the relentless internal narrator steps aside.
Many people describe this as feeling “small” in the best possible way. Not diminished, but placed back into a larger context. Keltner refers to this as the “small self” effect. Our problems do not disappear, but they often feel less overwhelming.
3. The loss of awe may be one of modern life’s hidden costs
Children experience awe constantly.
A puddle. A beetle. A cloud. A cardboard box.
Adults, meanwhile, become highly efficient at filtering out novelty. The brain learns shortcuts. Familiarity replaces curiosity. We stop noticing.
Technology may compound the problem. Endless scrolling creates stimulation without wonder. We consume extraordinary images at extraordinary speed, often without truly absorbing them.
The consequence is subtle but significant.
Without moments of awe, life can become psychologically compressed. Days blur together. Stress feels larger. The self becomes the centre of the story.
Research suggests that people who experience awe more frequently report lower stress levels, greater wellbeing, increased life satisfaction and a stronger sense of meaning.
In other words, awe may be less about adding something to life than recovering something we have lost.
4. Awe is deeply connected to other positive emotions
Awe rarely travels alone. It often appears alongside gratitude, curiosity, humility, compassion and love.
Researchers have found that awe increases prosocial behaviour, making people more generous, cooperative and connected to others. It can increase feelings of belonging while reducing entitlement and excessive self-importance. This may help explain why some of life’s most meaningful moments involve shared awe.
A concert where thousands sing together. A child being born. Witnessing an act of courage. Looking up at the stars with someone you love. These experiences remind us that we are part of something larger than ourselves. And that sense of connection appears to be profoundly protective for both physical and psychological health.
5. The fastest route to awe is probably closer than you think
Most people assume awe requires something grand.
A Himalayan summit. A spiritual pilgrimage. A once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Yet Keltner’s research suggests otherwise. Nature remains one of the most reliable sources of awe. Mountains, forests, oceans, ancient trees and expansive skies consistently trigger the emotion. But so do art, music, architecture, science, storytelling, acts of moral beauty and human connection.
One study found that simply taking regular “awe walks” increased positive emotions and social connection in older adults.
The key appears to be attention.
Awe emerges when we slow down enough to notice something vast, beautiful or mysterious that challenges our existing understanding of the world. Sometimes that comes from wilderness alone. Sometimes it comes from a carefully crafted experience that helps people see the familiar through new eyes.
A striking example came at the Alma Frequency Festival in Crans-Montana, where participants joined an immersive mountain experience created by SANCTUM. Wearing headphones, they hiked through the Swiss Alps as music, movement, breathwork and the surrounding landscape merged into a single experience. What might have been a simple mountain walk became something far more profound. Many participants reported overwhelming feelings of gratitude, connection and wonder. Some found themselves unexpectedly emotional, standing in silence with tears streaming down their faces as the vastness of the mountains seemed to dissolve the usual boundaries between self and landscape.
The same phenomenon can unfold in entirely different settings. At Six Senses Ibiza, participants gathering for sunset sound circle ceremonies led by OPO founder and Alma Frequency practitioner Chris Connors often describe a similar sense of expansion. As the sun slips beneath the horizon, waves break against the rocks and voices, music and silence blend together, the experience becomes far greater than the sum of its parts. Nature, beauty, ritual, community and sensory immersion combine to create precisely the conditions in which awe tends to arise.
From a scientific perspective, this makes perfect sense. Awe is most likely to emerge when we encounter something vast that shifts our frame of reference. The combination of natural beauty, emotional resonance, collective experience and a temporary release from everyday concerns creates the perfect conditions for it.
The encouraging news is that awe does not require a plane ticket, a retreat or a life-changing event. It can be found in mountains and oceans, certainly, but also in music, art, conversation, community and moments of deep presence.
Perhaps the real challenge is not finding awe at all.
It is remembering to look up long enough to notice it.
By Maya Boyd
Awe is that feeling that stops us in our tracks. It arrives unexpectedly when standing beneath a mountain range, watching a meteor shower, hearing a piece of music that feels impossibly beautiful or witnessing an act of extraordinary human kindness. It is the sensation that the world is somehow larger, stranger and more interconnected than we had remembered.
For decades, awe was largely ignored by scientists. Today, researchers such as Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, have helped establish it as one of the most fascinating emotions in human psychology. Far from being a fleeting luxury, awe appears to have measurable effects on the brain, nervous system, immune function and mental health. The evidence suggests it may be one of the most powerful and accessible wellbeing tools we possess.
1. Awe literally changes the body
When we experience awe, something remarkable happens physiologically.
Research suggests that awe increases activity in the vagus nerve, the major communication highway between the brain and body. The vagus nerve helps regulate heart rate, digestion, inflammation and our ability to move out of fight-or-flight mode and into a state of calm restoration.
At the same time, awe is associated with reduced sympathetic nervous system activation, meaning the body’s stress response begins to soften. Studies have also linked awe to lower levels of inflammatory markers, particularly interleukin-6 (IL-6), a molecule associated with chronic disease, ageing and stress-related illness. Among positive emotions, awe appears to be one of the strongest predictors of lower inflammation.
Some forms of awe are also linked to increased oxytocin release, the hormone involved in trust, bonding and social connection.
In short, awe is not simply a feeling.
It is a whole-body state.
2. Awe quiets the part of the brain that won’t stop talking
Modern life is dominated by self-focus.
We worry about our inboxes, our finances, our appearance, our productivity and our future. Much of this mental chatter is associated with a collection of brain regions known as the default mode network.
The default mode network becomes active when we are ruminating, replaying the past, worrying about the future or obsessing over ourselves. While useful, overactivity in this network has also been linked to anxiety, depression and excessive self-focus.
One of the most intriguing findings in awe research is that awe appears to quiet this network. Brain imaging studies show reduced activity in key regions of the default mode network during awe experiences.
For a brief moment, the relentless internal narrator steps aside.
Many people describe this as feeling “small” in the best possible way. Not diminished, but placed back into a larger context. Keltner refers to this as the “small self” effect. Our problems do not disappear, but they often feel less overwhelming.
3. The loss of awe may be one of modern life’s hidden costs
Children experience awe constantly.
A puddle. A beetle. A cloud. A cardboard box.
Adults, meanwhile, become highly efficient at filtering out novelty. The brain learns shortcuts. Familiarity replaces curiosity. We stop noticing.
Technology may compound the problem. Endless scrolling creates stimulation without wonder. We consume extraordinary images at extraordinary speed, often without truly absorbing them.
The consequence is subtle but significant.
Without moments of awe, life can become psychologically compressed. Days blur together. Stress feels larger. The self becomes the centre of the story.
Research suggests that people who experience awe more frequently report lower stress levels, greater wellbeing, increased life satisfaction and a stronger sense of meaning.
In other words, awe may be less about adding something to life than recovering something we have lost.
4. Awe is deeply connected to other positive emotions
Awe rarely travels alone. It often appears alongside gratitude, curiosity, humility, compassion and love.
Researchers have found that awe increases prosocial behaviour, making people more generous, cooperative and connected to others. It can increase feelings of belonging while reducing entitlement and excessive self-importance. This may help explain why some of life’s most meaningful moments involve shared awe.
A concert where thousands sing together. A child being born. Witnessing an act of courage. Looking up at the stars with someone you love. These experiences remind us that we are part of something larger than ourselves. And that sense of connection appears to be profoundly protective for both physical and psychological health.
5. The fastest route to awe is probably closer than you think
Most people assume awe requires something grand.
A Himalayan summit. A spiritual pilgrimage. A once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Yet Keltner’s research suggests otherwise. Nature remains one of the most reliable sources of awe. Mountains, forests, oceans, ancient trees and expansive skies consistently trigger the emotion. But so do art, music, architecture, science, storytelling, acts of moral beauty and human connection.
One study found that simply taking regular “awe walks” increased positive emotions and social connection in older adults.
The key appears to be attention.
Awe emerges when we slow down enough to notice something vast, beautiful or mysterious that challenges our existing understanding of the world. Sometimes that comes from wilderness alone. Sometimes it comes from a carefully crafted experience that helps people see the familiar through new eyes.
A striking example came at the Alma Frequency Festival in Crans-Montana, where participants joined an immersive mountain experience created by SANCTUM. Wearing headphones, they hiked through the Swiss Alps as music, movement, breathwork and the surrounding landscape merged into a single experience. What might have been a simple mountain walk became something far more profound. Many participants reported overwhelming feelings of gratitude, connection and wonder. Some found themselves unexpectedly emotional, standing in silence with tears streaming down their faces as the vastness of the mountains seemed to dissolve the usual boundaries between self and landscape.
The same phenomenon can unfold in entirely different settings. At Six Senses Ibiza, participants gathering for sunset sound circle ceremonies led by OPO founder and Alma Frequency practitioner Chris Connors often describe a similar sense of expansion. As the sun slips beneath the horizon, waves break against the rocks and voices, music and silence blend together, the experience becomes far greater than the sum of its parts. Nature, beauty, ritual, community and sensory immersion combine to create precisely the conditions in which awe tends to arise.
From a scientific perspective, this makes perfect sense. Awe is most likely to emerge when we encounter something vast that shifts our frame of reference. The combination of natural beauty, emotional resonance, collective experience and a temporary release from everyday concerns creates the perfect conditions for it.
The encouraging news is that awe does not require a plane ticket, a retreat or a life-changing event. It can be found in mountains and oceans, certainly, but also in music, art, conversation, community and moments of deep presence.
Perhaps the real challenge is not finding awe at all.
It is remembering to look up long enough to notice it.
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