Your Daily Dose of Awe
Experiencing awe helps support our overall well-being.
Posted May 26, 2026 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch
Consider a moment when you were suddenly pulled out of your daily routine by a profound sense of marvel and wonder. Maybe you were far outside the city on a clear night, looking up at a sky filled with so many stars it almost didn’t seem real. Maybe it was watching your child take their first steps toward you, hearing a piece of music that gave you chills, or seeing the ocean stretch endlessly beneath a spectacular sunrise. Most of us have experienced moments like these—brief but unforgettable experiences that leave us feeling connected, humbled, and more alive all at once.
This is awe , a complex human emotion marked by a sense of vastness, transcendence, and what is often described as “mind-blowing” enlightenment. It is the feeling we experience when something is so extraordinary that it reshapes the way we see ourselves, others, and the world around us.
I invite you to think of awe as medicine for your mind and body, dispensed from within you. Often, we do not realize awe’s effects until they have already shifted our state. Why? This emotion is born from our internal systems, triggered by our interactions with others, ourselves, and the world. We are our own pharmacists. In fact, a dose of awe may be one of the healthiest and most accessible ‘prescriptions’ for well-being.
Modern science reveals specific neurophysiological markers associated with awe, including increased vagal tone—a measure of relaxation regulated by the vagus nerve ; increased release of oxytocin , the hormone linked to bonding and trust; reduced inflammation and lower bodily stress responses; and decreased sympathetic nervous system arousal, meaning less activation of the “fight-or-flight” response. All of these have been correlated with improvements in both mental and physical health.
In other words, the experience of awe can help shift us into a restorative “rest-and-digest” state, elevating our sense of meaning, social connection, cognitive clarity, optimism , gratitude , emotional regulation , generosity , humility, resilience , and overall well-being
One of the most striking and defining features of awe, in my opinion, is reduced activation in the default-mode network (DMN) of our brains. The DMN is a network of brain regions that becomes active when we are on ‘autopilot’; going through the motions without mindful awareness of what is happening within or around us. Typically, the DMN is activated when feeling anxious or depressed about the past or future, without regard for the present.
Though quite powerful, the DMN is no match for awe, which ‘wows’ us back into the present moment. By fascinating us and challenging our typical ways of being, a dose of awe can facilitate the formation of new neural pathways that lead towards mental and physical wellness.
Awe can be dispensed at any moment. The only prerequisites? Mindfulness and ‘beginner’s mind’.
Beginner’s mind is a concept in Zen Buddhism; the practice of approaching an experience, whether new or routine, as if we were experiencing it for the very first time. Like a child seeing the world with fresh eyes, beginner's mind invites us to engage in our lives with inquisitiveness and without preconceived notions.
Similarly, mindfulness asks us to observe our thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and experiences with curiosity and without judgment. Since awe helps release us from the DMN, both beginner's mind and mindfulness are interconnected as prerequisites and outcomes of awe.
Notwithstanding awe’s limitless potential to emerge, research has highlighted some common triggers. For instance, we often experience awe when engaging with music, dance, nature, visual art, meditation , education , psychedelics, space, or spirituality . Additionally, awe may be prompted by witnessing or experiencing accomplishments, sharing moments in relationships, or reflecting on mortality. Even learning from an adverse event or emotion has been linked to awe—say, experiencing an epiphany in therapy . Uniting all these experiences is a common thread: a sense of transcendence beyond our usual sense of ‘self’.
Self-transcendence has been defined as a feeling of closeness and oneness with everything that exists. Here, we find ourselves at the foundation of awe: The ego dissolves in the face of our belonging to something bigger than ourselves. As writer and educator Terry Tempest Williams has said, “Awe is the moment when ego surrenders to wonder”. In such moments when we let go of ‘I’ and embrace the ‘we’ within ‘awe’, transcendence awaits.
Why Awe Changes Us for the Better
Now that we’ve elicited some awe about awe, let’s dive deeper into the measurable mental and physical outcomes associated with this medicinal emotion.
Recent research has linked awe to reductions in anxiety , depression , and PTSD . It has also been related to improvements in emotional, social, and psychological well-being. A study on awe conducted during the peak of COVID-19 transmission found that participants who reported experiencing awe most often also reported greater optimism and life satisfaction than those who felt less awe. The researchers concluded that awe could help protect mental health by positively re-orienting our life narratives, even in times of crisis and uncertainty.
Physical health outcomes of awe can include declines in headaches, body aches, digestive issues, physical pain, and autoimmune diseases. Science has also linked awe to enhanced sleep quality, cardiovascular health, and even longevity. With each dose of awe, we help increase the quality and quantity of our lives.
No matter how extraordinary an awe trigger may be, remember this: We have the power to administer awe even during the minutiae of our daily lives. With that in mind, I invite you to consider: When was the last time you were stopped in your tracks by this profound sense of marvel and wonder?
Awe tends to work its medicinal magic most quickly when triggered by something spontaneous—feeling captivated by the beauty of a fireworks display, for example, or a stunning sunset. These are the moments when awe is dispensed without us even intending it.
What about the moments when you intentionally set out to experience awe? Perhaps this can be realized while exploring to a new country on vacation or waking up at 5 am to go on a nature walk and meditate. These practices require a bit more effort and planning but can be equally as rewarding as spontaneous awe.
Lastly, there are the subtler moments of awe. These are times when you didn’t intend to feel awe, nor was its trigger obvious. Maybe you felt overcome with gratitude when your partner kissed you goodbye before work. Maybe you felt both tiny and vast as you looked at the stars while taking out the trash. Or perhaps you noticed tears well in your eyes when the warm sun touched your face after a cold winter.
Considering all the opportunities for awe, it is up to us to welcome this vast and transformative emotion into our lives, whether it arises spontaneously or on purpose. Your dosage is unique to you; it is ever evolving and growing as you do—and the best part? Awe is yours to prescribe whenever you choose.
Chen, S. K., & Mongrain, M. (2020). Awe and the interconnected self. The Journal of Positive Psychology , 16 (6), 770–778. doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1818808
Monroy, Maria, & Keltner, D. (2022). Awe as a pathway to mental and Physical Health. Perspectives on Psychological Science , 18 (2), 309–320. doi.org/10.1177/17456916221094856
Monroy, María, Uğurlu, Ö., Zerwas, F., Corona, R., Keltner, D., Eagle, J., & Amster, M. (2023). The influences of daily experiences of awe on stress, Somatic Health, and well-being: A longitudinal study during COVID-19. Scientific Reports , 13 (1). doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35200-w
Thompson, J. (2023). Narrative health: Examining the relationship between the phenomenon of awe and resilience and well-being. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being , 8 (2), 85–98. doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.321
Wang, X., Luo, L., & Yuan, J. (2025). Dispositional awe predicts mental health through interpretation bias during COVID-19 transmission: A longitudinal study. PsyCh Journal , 14 (3), 395–406. doi.org/10.1002/pchj.70008
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Kirsten Davidson is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) and the Founder of Mind The Gaps Psychotherapy.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.