There are moments in life that stop us in our tracks: standing at the edge of a vast canyon, hearing a piece of music that hits a note we didn’t know we needed, watching a child laugh with unfiltered joy, or witnessing a small act of kindness that feels unexpectedly profound. These are moments of awe—fleeting but powerful states of consciousness that rearrange the boundaries of our everyday attention.
We tend to think awe belongs to childhood, travel, or spiritual experiences. But research tells us something different and far more important: awe is a psychological nutrient, not a luxury. And like any nutrient, it has measurable effects on our brain, our behaviour, and our mental health.
In a world saturated with stress, overwork, overstimulation, and information overload, cultivating awe may be one of the simplest and most accessible ways to reset the mind. It’s free, available everywhere, and scientifically shown to reduce anxiety, boost creativity, expand perspective, and strengthen social connection.
In this piece, we’ll explore what awe and wonder actually do to the brain, why these experiences are vital for mental wellbeing, and how we can reconnect with them as adults. Along the way, I’ll share research findings and personal stories that reveal just how transformative awe can be—and why approaching life with curiosity and a childlike spirit isn’t naïve, but psychologically intelligent.
What Exactly Is Awe?
Psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt (2003) describe awe as an emotion triggered by two key components:
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Perceived vastness – encountering something larger than oneself
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A need for accommodation – a feeling that one’s current worldview, understanding, or perspective must stretch to make sense of what’s happening
This could be watching a meteor shower or listening to someone speak with extraordinary wisdom. It might arise in nature, art, music, relationships, or even ideas. Awe doesn’t have to be dramatic; it simply has to challenge and expand the self.
Importantly, awe isn’t just a feeling—it’s a cognitive event that reorganises the brain in subtle but powerful ways.
What Awe Does to the Brain
1. Awe Reduces Activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN)
The Default Mode Network, a set of brain regions linked to self-referential thinking, rumination, and mind-wandering, quiets down during awe.
A study by van Elk et al. (2019) used fMRI scans to show that awe reduces DMN activity, leading to:
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less focus on the self
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reduced internal chatter
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more present-moment awareness
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an expanded sense of connection to others
This is why awe often creates a sense of profound calm, even if the moment itself is intense.
2. Awe Enhances the Brain’s Sense of Time
Multiple studies (e.g., Rudd, Vohs, & Aaker, 2012) show that awe expands one’s subjective sense of time. Participants induced into awe (by videos of Earth from space, natural wonders, or powerful music) reported feeling they had more time available and were less impatient.
This is especially important in an era where stress is often tied to feeling rushed or overwhelmed.
3. Awe Activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System
Awe has been shown to trigger the vagus nerve, which slows the heart rate, regulates digestion, and promotes emotional equilibrium. Stellar examples come from research by Shiota et al. (2017), who found that awe reliably activates this calming physiological response, leading to measurable reductions in stress.
4. Awe Increases Cognitive Openness and Creativity
The expansiveness of awe relaxes our cognitive boundaries. In a study published in Psychological Science, participants who experienced awe performed better on tasks requiring divergent thinking (Chirico et al., 2018). Awe makes the mind more flexible, less rigid, and more able to see new possibilities.
This is one reason many artists, innovators, and scientists rely on awe—whether through nature or deep curiosity—as a creative catalyst.
Awe as Medicine: Mental Health Benefits
Awe Reduces Stress and Anxiety
In 2020, a study led by Virginia Sturm at the University of California, San Francisco, found that participants who took weekly “awe walks” (15–20 minutes intentionally seeking something wondrous) showed:
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significant reductions in daily stress
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increased joy and compassion
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lower overall anxiety
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increased life satisfaction
The most striking finding? These benefits grew stronger over time, suggesting awe not only offers momentary relief but builds emotional resilience.
Awe Enhances Mood and Emotional Wellbeing
Because awe reduces self-focus and promotes connection, people often report:
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feeling uplifted
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more grounded
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more connected to the world
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less preoccupied with their problems
This is why awe is frequently described as spiritual—even by those who don’t consider themselves spiritual. It’s a shift from I to we, from isolation to connection.
Awe Strengthens Social Bonds
One of the most uplifting findings in awe research comes from Piff et al. (2015). Across multiple studies, participants who had just experienced awe were:
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more generous
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more cooperative
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more helpful
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more attuned to the needs of others
Awe literally quiets the ego and strengthens prosocial behaviour.
Awe Helps Us Process Grief and Mortality
Awe expands perspective and softens existential anxiety. Research by Jiang et al. (2018) found that awe helps individuals tolerate uncertainty and reduces fear around meaning, identity, and mortality.
Instead of collapsing under the weight of existential questions, people gain a sense of belonging to a larger system—nature, humanity, history, creativity, or something beyond the self.
The Science of Wonder and Childlike Curiosity
If awe is the emotional response, wonder is the cognitive experience that follows—a desire to explore, understand, and keep learning.
Psychologist Paul Silvia (2008) describes wonder as a state of “interest linked to vast unknowns.” When people feel wonder, they become more:
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curious
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engaged
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open to novelty
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motivated to learn
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playful
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intrinsically driven
Children experience this easily. Adults, however, often override curiosity with caution, routine, or cynicism. Yet research shows that curiosity is strongly linked to psychological wellbeing, including:
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higher life satisfaction
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greater cognitive flexibility
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lower anxiety
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better emotional regulation
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stronger relationships
Curiosity is not childish. It is a mature and highly effective psychological strategy.
A Personal Story: Rediscovering Awe in the Ordinary
A few years ago, a client of mine—let’s call her Anna—was struggling with burnout. She felt emotionally flat, chronically stressed, and disconnected from herself. Her days felt repetitive, and she described everything as “grey”.
I encouraged her to experiment with a simple practice based on the UCSF awe walk research: each morning, she would walk through her neighbourhood, but with the intention of noticing one thing that sparked even a tiny sense of wonder. It could be a pattern in a leaf, a child playing, an unusual cloud, a bird perched on a fence.
At first, she felt self-conscious. She said it felt “silly” to try to be amazed by ordinary things. But she persisted.
Three weeks later, she told me something that stayed with me:
“It feels like colour is coming back into my life.”
She started taking photos of small details she had never noticed before. She began feeling less overwhelmed and more grounded. Her anxiety decreased. She described feeling “light” again.
This was not magic. It was attention training—a shift in where her mind directed itself. Awe gave her nervous system the space to breathe.
Why Adults Stop Feeling Awe (and Why We Should Resist That)
There are several reasons adults experience less awe than children:
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Predictability: The more we think we’ve seen it all, the less we look.
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Efficiency: Busyness kills curiosity.
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Cynicism: Fear of appearing naïve prevents emotional openness.
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Technology: Constant stimulation dulls sensitivity to subtle beauty.
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Over-identification with roles: We forget how to simply observe without analysing.
Yet every adult has access to awe—we simply forget to look for it.
In fact, some research suggests adults actually respond more deeply to awe when they let themselves experience it, because their cognitive frameworks are richer and more complex.
Awe is not childish. But reconnecting with awe requires childlike qualities: curiosity, openness, flexibility, and willingness to be surprised.
How to Experience More Awe and Wonder in Daily Life
Here are evidence-based practices that reliably generate awe:
1. Take Awe Walks
Schedule one walk per week where your only goal is to look for anything that evokes wonder (Sturm et al., 2020). No speed, no steps target, no multitasking. Just attention.
2. Curate a Personal Awe Playlist
Music easily induces awe. Use tracks that evoke vastness, beauty, or emotional resonance.
3. Look at the Sky
It sounds simple, but research shows sky-gazing (sunrises, sunsets, starry nights) reliably produces awe—even in urban environments.
4. Read Something That Blows Your Mind
This could be astronomy, philosophy, poetry, or history. Expansive ideas generate cognitive vastness.
5. Visit Places That Inspire Your Inner Child
Nature works well, but so do museums, libraries, aquariums, markets, and even vintage shops.
6. Spend Time with Children
Children model awe spontaneously. Let their curiosity lead you.
7. Practice Micro-Awe
Awe doesn’t have to be big. Try noticing:
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the structure of a flower
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the texture of a piece of fruit
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the architecture of a building
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a moment of kindness
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the complexity of your own hands
8. Seek First Experiences
Novelty is one of the strongest triggers of awe. Try something you have never done before, even if it feels small.
Approaching Life as an “Open Canvas”
One of the most powerful ways to cultivate awe and wonder is to shift into what Zen Buddhism calls “beginner’s mind,” or what psychologists might call openness to experience.
When we approach life as an open canvas:
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We stop predicting and start observing
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We loosen rigid expectations
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We allow ideas, people, and experiences to surprise us
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We become more emotionally flexible
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We reduce defensive thinking
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We foster creativity and possibility
You don’t need to adopt a new lifestyle to experience awe. You simply need to drop the assumption that you’ve already seen what life has to offer.
Adults often live with filtered vision; awe removes the filter.
Awe Strengthens Meaning and Purpose
One of the most profound effects of awe is its impact on meaning. Research from the Greater Good Science Center shows that awe helps people:
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see connections between events
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find purpose in adversity
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feel less alone
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sense that life is part of a larger story
This is why awe often arises during transitions—births, deaths, heartbreak, new beginnings. It helps us make sense of life.
Awe doesn’t provide answers; it expands the space in which answers can emerge.
Final Thoughts: Staying Curious, Stay Childlike, Stay Open
Awe is not reserved for the lucky or the spiritual or the artistic. It is a universal human capacity—one that we often lose through routine, pressure, and adulthood, but one that can be reclaimed with intention.
When we cultivate awe and wonder, the world doesn’t change.
Our perception does.
And with that shift comes:
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clearer thinking
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reduced stress
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stronger connection
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deeper meaning
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warmer relationships
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greater creativity
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a calmer nervous system
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a richer life
We live in a world that rewards certainty, speed, and productivity. But awe invites slowness, presence, and humility. It reminds us that the world is bigger than our worries and more beautiful than our routines allow us to see.
As you move forward, try approaching the world with an open canvas. Seek moments that surprise you. Let yourself be moved, even briefly. Cultivate wonder as a practice, not an accident.
Your brain will thank you.
Your mental health will thank you.
Your life will quietly but unmistakably expand.
If life is a canvas, awe is the colour. Let it in.
