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A Regular Dose of Awe Walk is a Simple Way to Boost Emotions

Feb, 2021

Recent study, published on September 21, 2020 in the journal of Emotion, discovers geriatric people who took amazing weekly awe walk of 15 minutes for around eight weeks reported positive vibes and less distress in their daily lives.

In the study, researchers at the UC San Francisco Memory and Aging Center (MAC) and the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) which is a partnership between UCSF and Trinity College Dublin to boost brain health worldwide, concluded that a 15 minute awe walk for a week can trigger positive emotions in adults. This was reflected in selfies clicked by participants on their weekly walk focusing on their surroundings rather than themselves with measurably broader smiles by the end of the day. Emotions such as loneliness, stress and negative vibes are particularly seen in age groups above 70-75, said Virginia Sturm, PhD, an associate professor of neurology and of psychiatry and behavioral science 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.”

Walking boosts human mind even more if focused and appreciated the world around. Soaking up nature while walking, can make healthy ‘pro-social’ emotions such as gratitude, compassion. This is a low cost intervention to improve brain health. By experiencing an awe one can contribute to host of benefits including a verge sense of time, enhanced feelings, humility, well-being, generosity and peace. It also helps to reduce stress anxiety and fatigue and improves self-perception and self-esteem, mood and sleep quality. Physically active people have up to a 30% reduced risk of becoming depressed, and staying active helps those who are depressed recover.