How to do it
- Fifteen minutes, once a week, on your own. That's what the trial tested.
- Somewhere new if you can. The awe group was encouraged to try new places each week.
- Look for scale. The sky, weather coming in, a long view, something much bigger than you.
- It adds to time outdoors, it doesn't replace it. That's where you walk; this is what you look at.
How the walk shifts
- Attentionturns outward
Both groups in the trial walked alone. The awe group went out looking for awe, somewhere new if they could; the other group just walked.
- Your selfshrinks in the frame
In selfies taken on the walks, the awe walkers took up less of the picture as the weeks went on, and smiled more.
- Moodmore joy, more warmth
More joy and prosocial emotion, warm feelings aimed at other people, on the walks. Day to day, that warmth rose and distress fell more than in plain walkers; daily joy didn't.
- Yousame walk, more from it
That this works for men in midlife is untested. The trial was people aged 60 to 90, mostly women.
Why it works
Awe is the feeling of being in front of something much bigger than you. In a trial with 60 people aged 60 to 90, those sent on weekly walks with an eye out for it felt more joy on the walks than people who just walked. Over eight weeks, their everyday warm feelings towards others rose and their distress fell, more than in the plain walkers. Evidence: decent Their selfies changed too: they put themselves smaller in the frame and smiled more. Evidence: decent
That it works for a man of forty-five is untested. Evidence: worth trying Fifteen minutes a week costs little to find out.
The long readEvery step of the chain, each study with its numbers, and what's still unproven. 2 min read.
What happens in your brain
This chain is behaviour, not brain areas. Nobody has scanned it.
Attention turns outward. Both groups walked alone, fifteen minutes, every week. The difference was that one group went looking for awe, and was encouraged to go somewhere new if they could. Evidence: decent
Your self shrinks in the frame. The walkers took selfies. Over the weeks, the awe walkers took up less of the picture, and their smiles got bigger. Evidence: decent Reading that as feeling smaller inside is an interpretation of a photo measure. Evidence: worth trying
More joy, more warmth. On the walks, the awe walkers reported more joy and more prosocial emotion, meaning warm feelings aimed at other people, than the plain walkers. Day to day, outside the walks, their prosocial emotion rose and their distress fell more; daily joy didn't differ. Evidence: decent
Same walk, more from it. For anyone under 60, this is an inference. Evidence: worth trying
The proof
- A randomised trial: 60 healthy adults aged 60 to 90, 52 in the analysis, eight weeks, weekly fifteen-minute solo walks, awe against plain. Evidence: decent
- On the walks, the awe walkers reported more joy and more prosocial emotion. Day to day, their prosocial emotion rose and distress fell more than in plain walkers; daily joy didn't differ. Anxiety, depression and life satisfaction didn't change in either group. Evidence: decent
- In their selfies, their own image got smaller in the frame and their smiles got bigger over time. Evidence: decent
- Nobody has run it on midlife men. Evidence: worth trying
How to do it
- Once a week, fifteen minutes, on your own. That's what was tested. Evidence: decent
- Somewhere new if you can. The awe walkers were encouraged to pick new places, in town or out of it. You don't need a mountain. Evidence: decent
- Look for scale: the sky, the weather coming in, a long view, a tall tree, a big building. Something that makes you feel small. Evidence: worth trying
- This is different from green space, weekly. That one is about where you spend time, two hours a week among trees or water. This one is about what you look at, on any walk. They stack. Evidence: worth trying
Watch out
One trial, 52 people aged 60 to 90 in the analysis, mostly women, eight weeks, feelings they reported themselves. Evidence: decent Daily joy didn't change, and neither did anxiety, depression or life satisfaction. Evidence: decent The selfie finding is striking, but it's one measure in one study. Evidence: decent Men in midlife haven't been tested. Evidence: worth trying
Flat for a few weeks, with sleep or appetite off and no interest in things you used to like: that's not a happiness gap, it's a doctor visit.