https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/uoc--wb091520.php
News Release 21-Sep-2020
University of California - San Francisco
A regular dose of awe is a simple way to boost healthy 'prosocial' emotions such as compassion and gratitude, according to a new study by researchers at the UC San Francisco Memory and Aging Center (MAC) and the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) -- a partnership between UCSF and Trinity College Dublin to improve brain health worldwide.
In the study, published September 21, 2020 in the journal Emotion, older adults who took weekly 15-minute "awe walks" for eight weeks reported increased positive emotions and less distress in their daily lives. This shift was reflected in "selfies" participants took on their weekly walks, in which an increasing focus on their surroundings rather than themselves was paralleled by measurably broader smiles by the end of the study.
"Negative emotions, particularly loneliness, have well-documented negative effects on the health of older adults, particularly those over age 75," said Virginia Sturm, PhD, an associate professor of neurology and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the John Douglas French Alzheimer's Foundation Endowed Professor in the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. "What we show here is that a very simple intervention -- essentially a reminder to occasionally shift our energy and attention outward instead of inward -- can lead to significant improvements in emotional well-being."
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"Awe is a positive emotion triggered by awareness of something vastly larger than the self and not immediately understandable -- such as nature, art, music, or being caught up in a collective act such as a ceremony, concert or political march," Keltner said. "Experiencing awe can contribute to a host of benefits including an expanded sense of time and enhanced feelings of generosity, well-being, and humility."
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