Finding yourself in constant awe and wonder? Studies suggest one emotion helps 'reset' your body

A simple glance at the sky or a gaze into nature’s beauty often makes us feel awe. Turns out, being in this space of wonder can greatly benefit health, as found in The National Geographic's report. While several studies note that awe can evoke soothing emotions, reaping great outcomes for physical and mental health, even more experts are backing the theory now. Neuroscientist Virginia Sturm at the University of California, San Francisco, explained that this feeling of awe brings calm that helps magically reset our systems. In a bustling environment where stopping to take a breath feels challenging, this simple expression can turn things around — and a study of 94 undergraduates proves it.

Awe is that vibrant feeling you get when you hear a song that hits home, read about something heartwarming, or just pause to notice the little beauties of life. It makes us stop in our tracks, and this simple step is crucial to help reset. Sturm explained that awe pushes us to pause, and it is in that moment that our body shifts from a “fight-or-flight” response to a calmer setting. This is because the emotion is naturally tuned with a high “vagal tone,” thus soothing the body through the vagus nerve. Of all positive emotions, this one has got to be one that really makes you feel rejuvenated. A 2015 study encompassing 94 undergraduate respondents found that "students who reported more frequent awe showed significantly lower circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a biomarker of inflammation," reports National Geographic.

Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., founding director of the Greater Good Science Center, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, has done extensive research on the benefits of awe and how it rewires us with good energy. Writing in the Greater Good Magazine, he revealed how one of their studies showed the connection of awe with “one branch of the immune system known as the cytokine system.” The latter, when hyperactive, can seriously affect health and make a person chronically sick and vulnerable to disease. Out of all emotions, it was awe that brought down these levels drastically. 

Think about it… when you see the sky with myriad colors, or you notice someone smiling through tears, you realize there’s more to life than the problems in front of our very eyes. There’s something vast beyond — and it’s magnificent. That realization itself is enough to evoke positive emotions, which completely restructure our functioning and mindset. Research published in the National Library of Medicine revealed that just feeling awe offers the following physical changes — shifts in neurophysiology, a diminished focus on the self, increased prosocial relationality, greater social integration, and a heightened sense of meaning. All of these work to provide overall well-being. It’s a simple emotion, but it makes us rethink our perspective on life. 

So how do we find this “awe” in daily life, because we clearly need it. Sturm says, “We can all create practices that promote awe in everyday life.” If you take that moment to stop on the way to work and look into the street, the park, or the garden. If you observe the heart and soul in a person or animal instead of just seeing them outwardly. If you just take a second to appreciate and admire a good burger, you’ll find yourself feeling that magnificent feeling. It doesn’t have to be only the forest, the mountains, or the underwater world. Awe is everywhere around you! A woman who goes by @miyaelsewhere rightfully wrote, “Awe is the one feeling that slows time down. It softens the ego, calms the mind, and reminds us we’re part of something bigger. And the best part? It can happen anywhere — if we look up long enough to notice.”

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