Most of us spend the majority of our waking hours consuming things through a screen. The content we see has been tailored to our preferences, it reflect our existing interests back at us and creates a digital world that's essentially been built around our own point of view. It's stimulating because we only see what interests us, but it's also enforcing a profoundly small view on the world.
Awe is the opposite of that. It's the emotion that pulls your attention out of your own head and towards something genuinely bigger than you. And it turns out we're not getting nearly enough of it. There's now solid science behind what awe does to your brain and body, and a growing case that seeking it out on purpose might be one of the better things you can do for your wellbeing.
What actually is awe?
Awe is the emotion we feel in the presence of something so vast and beautiful it makes you feel momentarily small in the world. The feeling you get standing under a sky full of stars, watching a sunset, or looking out over a coastline that stretches to the horizon.
It's not just beauty, awe requires scale. It's why a nice flower doesn't do it, but a vast field of them might. Why a photograph of the Grand Canyon won’t trigger the same response as standing in it.
Whilst “feeling small” might sound like a negative, it’s not. When something is bigger than your frame of reference, it pulls your attention fully outward - making you feel less caught up in your own worries and more connected to something much larger than yourself.
The wellbeing benefits of awe
Awe is free. You just need to head out into the natural world and observe it. Here are a few of the benefits you can get from the emotion.
It gets you out of your own head. When we feel awe, self-focused thinking shrinks. We become less preoccupied with our own worries, our own narrative, our own mental noise. Researchers call this the "small self" effect. It gives the brain a break from worrying, planning and stressing. Studies show awe reduces self-focused rumination and increases feelings of connection to something larger.
It makes time feel slower. Research has found that awe makes moments feel longer and more expansive, and that people who'd just experienced awe felt less time-pressured and more willing to give their time to others. In a culture where "I don't have time" has become a default, it’s probably a feeling more of us should chase.
It calms your nervous system. Studies have found that people who experience awe have lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines - the proteins associated with stress, anxiety, and depression. Awe has also been shown to activate the vagus nerve, which is the body's main pathway for shifting out of fight-or-flight mode and into rest and recovery.
The nature types most likely to trigger awe
Not all nature hits equally when it comes to awe. Some environments do it better, and some come with additional wellbeing benefits worth knowing about.
The night sky is arguably the purest awe trigger there is. Looking at the scale of the cosmos is genuinely hard to accommodate within your existing worldview, and that's the point. The problem is that two thirds of people in the UK can no longer see the Milky Way from where they live — so this one requires a deliberate trip well away from light pollution (we might know a place or two…)
Mountains and vast open landscapes (moorland, mountains, wide open sky, sunsets) are the most reliable awe triggers because they deliver both things the emotion needs: genuine scale, and something your brain has to work to take in. Open landscapes have also been linked to reduced cognitive load, giving the prefrontal cortex real rest from its usual hum of planning and problem-solving.
Water does something slightly different. Research found that proximity to water puts the brain into a calm, mildly meditative state. At scale — the sea on a clear day, a wide estuary, a fast-running river — it's also one of the most consistent awe triggers going. Coastal and riverside environments have also been shown to measurably reduce psychological distress, so you're getting awe and nervous system regulation in one setting.
Forests work at a slower pace but no less effectively. Time among trees has been repeatedly shown to lower cortisol, blood pressure, and heart rate. The fractal patterns in natural environments (the branching of trees, the way light moves through a canopy) have been found to reduce physiological stress by up to 60%. Ancient woodland in particular can trigger awe in the vast-and-overwhelming sense, though even a regular forest visit is restorative in ways that are now well-documented.
How to go awe-hunting
Awe doesn't happen passively. You have to put yourself in its path and then actually be present enough to receive it.
- Seek scale, not just greenery. Go somewhere that makes you feel small. A hillside with a long view, an open coastline, a dark sky site. A green park will help calm you, but it’s less likely to trigger awe.
- Go at dawn or dusk. The light changes most dramatically at the edges of the day, and landscapes often look least like themselves. These are reliably high-awe moments.
- Put the phone down. Awe requires full attention so the moment you shift into documentation mode, you step outside the experience rather than into it. Research on the memory paradox suggests that photographing an experience actively reduces how much you feel and retain of it.
- Choose new spots. Familiar environments rarely trigger awe because your brain already has a framework for them. An unfamiliar landscape is far more likely to stop you in your tracks, which is partly why a weekend away from home does something a local walk often doesn't.
- Start smaller than you think. You don't need a dramatic destination. A genuinely ancient tree, a fast-running river, a properly dark sky — the ingredients for awe are closer than most of us assume.
FAQ
What is awe hunting?
Awe hunting is the deliberate practice of seeking out experiences that trigger awe, typically in nature. Rather than waiting for it to find you, you put yourself in the path of vast, unfamiliar, or hard-to-process environments on purpose.
What types of nature are best for awe?
Vast open landscapes, the sea, ancient woodland, and the night sky are among the most reliable. Anything that feels genuinely bigger than your existing frame of reference has the potential to work.
What are the benefits of awe?
Research links awe to reduced self-focused thinking, slower time perception, lower inflammation, vagus nerve activation, and increased feelings of connection. For people managing stress and burnout, it's a surprisingly effective reset.
How do you experience more awe in daily life?
Seek scale over proximity, go at dawn or dusk, leave your phone behind, and look for environments that feel genuinely unfamiliar. Awe requires presence so you have to be in the experience for it to land.