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 This article appeared in the March 29 issue of The New York Times Magazine. 
 
 Dark moods are bad for your health. Scientists have known for decades that a wide variety of unpleasant emotions, like shame, depression and anxiety, are linked to greater rates of ills like heart disease, inflammation, cancer and premature death. Conversely, positive feelings have been shown to be good for you. 
 
 Far less is known, however, about the health benefits of specific upbeat moods — whether contentment, say, might promote good health more robustly than joy or pride does. A new study singles out one surprising emotion as a potent medicine: awe. And happily, awe seems to be much easier to come by than many might expect, even for the busy and stressed-out. 
 
 For the study, published in January in the journal Emotion, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and other institutions focused on some particularly moody subjects: college freshmen. Ninety-four Berkeley students were recruited to fill out questionnaires about how frequently during the past month they felt various positive and negative emotions, like hostility, enthusiasm and inspiration. The students then supplied saliva samples, which were analyzed for interleukin-6, a molecule known to promote inflammation throughout the body. Because inflammation is tied to poor health, researchers figured that low levels of IL-6 might signal good health. As anticipated, when students’ moods were checked against their IL-6 levels, those who had experienced more positive emotions generally had lower levels of IL-6 than classmates whose moods were more frequently sour. 
 
 Researchers next enlisted 119 students to complete more elaborate questionnaires about their normal dispositions and the extent to which they had recently felt seven specific emotions: awe, amusement, compassion, contentment, joy, love and pride. The students also provided a saliva sample. While happy moods were collectively still associated with low IL-6 levels, the strongest correlation was with awe. The more frequently someone reported having felt awe-struck, the lower the IL-6. 
 
 “There seems to be something about awe,” says Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology and the senior author of the study, who is also the faculty director of the Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley. (He has studied laughter, empathy and blushing, too.) “It seems to have a pronounced impact on markers related to inflammation.” 
 
 Somewhat surprisingly, awe isn’t necessarily a rare occurrence, he adds. On average, the students in the study reported feeling the emotion three or more times a week. “How great is that?” Dr. Keltner says. 
 
 While acknowledging that awe is conceptually squishy and subjective, Dr. Keltner says that in general, a primary attribute of an awe-inspiring event is that it “will pass the goose-bumps test.” And he advises that people “seek it often.” He is just not certain what that means for everyone. “Some people feel awe listening to music,” Dr. Keltner says, “others watching a sunset or attending a political rally or seeing kids play.” 
 
 
 
 For more fitness, food and wellness news, “like” our Facebook page. ||||| By now you’re probably mulling over some of your New Year’s resolutions – do five planks a day, eat more quinoa, keep better track of expenses. Let me add one more to your list: seek more daily awe. 
 
 Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world. Early in human history, awe was reserved for feelings toward divine beings – e.g., gods humans invoked in the village ritual houses that sprang up some 10,000 years ago, the spirits Greek families felt guarded over their fates, and encounters with the divine at the center of the world’s great spiritual traditions. 
 
 In 1757, a revolution in our understanding of awe began thanks to Irish philosopher Edmund Burke. In A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Burke detailed how we feel the sublime (awe) not just during religious ritual or in communion with God, but in everyday perceptual experiences: in hearing thunder, in being moved by music, in seeing repetitive patterns of light and dark. Awe was to be found in daily life. 
 
 Today in our Berkeley lab when we study people’s narratives of awe, we find evidence of awe in the quotidian. Yes, awe arises during the extraordinary: when viewing the Grand Canyon, touching the hand of Iggy Pop, or experiencing the sacred during meditation or prayer. More frequently, though, people report feeling awe in response to more mundane things: after the perfect burrito, when seeing the leaves of a Gingko tree change from green to yellow, in beholding the night sky when camping near a river, in seeing a stranger give their food to a homeless person, in seeing their child laugh just like their brother. 
 
 A new science is now asking “Why awe?” This is a question we can approach in two ways. First is the distal sense of why awe became part of our species’ emotional repertoire during seven million years of hominid evolution. A preliminary answer is that awe binds us to social collectives and enables us to act in more collaborative ways that enable strong groups. 
 
 For example, in one study from our Berkeley lab, Michelle Shiota had participants fill in the blank of the following phrase: “ I AM ____.” They did so 20 times, either while standing next to an awe-inspiring replica of a T. rex skeleton in UC Berkeley’s Museum of Paleontology or in the exact same place but oriented to look down a hallway. Those next to the T. rex were more likely to define their individual selves in collectivist terms – as a member of a culture, a species, a university, a moral cause. Awe embeds the individual self into social collectives. 
 
 Near to Berkeley’s Museum of Paleontology is a stand of eucalyptus trees, the tallest in North America. When you look up into these trees, and their peeling bark and surrounding nimbus of greyish green light, goosebumps may ripple down your neck, a sure sign of awe. So in the spirit of Emerson and Muir – who found awe in nature and changed our understanding of the sublime – Paul Piff staged a minor accident near that grove to see if awe would prompt greater kindness. Participants first either looked up into the tall trees for one minute or oriented 90 degrees away to look up at the facade of a large science building. Participants then encountered a person who stumbled, dropping a handful of pens into the soft dirt. Our participants filled with awe picked up more pens. In subsequent studies, we have found that awe – more so than emotions like pride or amusement – leads people to cooperate, share resources, and sacrifice for others, all of which are requirements for our collective life. And still other studies have explained the awe-altruism link; being in the presence of vast things calls forth a more modest, less narcissistic self, which enables greater kindness toward others. 
 
 A first answer, then, to the question of “Why awe?” is coming into focus. In the course of our evolution, we became a most social species. We defended ourselves, hunted, reproduced, raised vulnerable offspring, slept, fought, and played in social collectives. This shift to more collective living required a new balancing act, that between the gratification of self-interest and an orientation toward enhancing the welfare of others. Awe emerged as one solution to this problem. Brief experiences of awe redefine the self in terms of the collective and orient our actions toward the interests of others. 
 
 A second answer to the question of “Why awe?” is of the proximal kind: what does awe do for you in the present moment? And here, the science is proving to be clear. Momentary experiences of awe stimulate wonder and curiosity. Parents have long known this. Sleep deprived, they watch, on occasion awe-struck, as their four-year-old marvels at every object in the world, in a perpetual state of awe, peppering them with endless questions of why. Biographers routinely discover this in their studies of innovators. Awe drives people to paradigm-shifting discoveries and new technologies. Such was the case of Darwin, Muir, and Einstein. Our studies at Berkeley are finding that simply watching short videos of expansive images of the Earth leads people to generate more unusual exemplars of a category (e.g., “furniture”), to find greater interest in abstract paintings, and to persist longer at working at difficult puzzles when compared to appropriate control conditions. 
 
 Awe also may be important for good health. The focus in our lab is on one branch of the immune system known as the cytokine system. Cytokines are chemical messengers that are often produced by cells in damaged tissue. Many cytokines elicit an inflammatory response, which is important for killing pathogens and healing wounds. Psychology is discovering that a hyperactive cytokine response renders the individual chronically sick and vulnerable to disease, a process that may be involved in how poverty shortens lives. Jennifer Stellar from our lab recently documented that of all the positive emotions humans experience, only awe predicted reduced levels of cytokines. Though this is still quite speculative, it raises the possibility that some of the pernicious effects of poverty are due to awe deprivation. 
 
 One last study from our Berkeley lab speaks to the promise of daily awe. Amie Gordon gathered people’s daily reports of awe for two weeks and found that it is surprisingly common in everyday living. Every third day, people feel that they are in the presence of something vast that they do not immediately comprehend. For example, seeing gold and red autumn leaves pirouette to the ground in a light wind; being moved by someone who stands up to injustice; and hearing music on a street corner at 2 AM all elicited such an experience. Intriguingly, each burst of daily awe predicted greater well-being and curiosity weeks later. 
 
 Thus, I suggest that you add “seek more daily awe” to this year’s resolutions. Take the time to pause and open your mind to those things which you do not fully understand, and you will be the better for it. 
 
 Dacher Keltner is professor of psychology at the University of California. ||||| Opinions 
 
 Dacher Keltner Professor of psychology at the University of California. By now you’re probably mulling over some of your New Year’s resolutions – do five planks a day, eat more quinoa, keep better track of expenses. Let me add one more to your list: seek more daily awe. Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world. Early in human history, awe was reserved for feelings toward divine beings – e.g., gods humans invoked in the village ritual houses that sprang up some 10,000 years ago, the spirits Greek families felt guarded over their fates, and encounters with the divine at the center of the world’s great spiritual traditions. Read More 
 
 Shaun Gallagher Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Excellence at the University of Memphis. Gazing at the heavens has long been known to elicit feelings of awe and wonder. The first forays into philosophy and science put the night sky at the center of inquiry. Thales, often considered the first philosopher, was an accomplished astronomer who predicted the solar eclipse of May 28, 585 BC. An old tradition, derived from Plato, holds that after dusk he would walk about, eyes fixed on the stars, until the night he tumbled into an open well. Of course, one need not be a philosopher to be awestruck by natural beauty. Sunrises and sunsets, views from a mountaintop or from the edges of the sea, desert vistas or the silence of deep forests—all of these can inspire a sense of awe and wonder. What precisely are such feelings, and from where do such experiences arise? Read More 
 
 Kathryn A. Johnson Assistant research professor of psychology at Arizona State University. People often experience awe when they encounter things like the vastness of the Grand Canyon, great feats of architectural engineering, or a perfectly pitched symphonic orchestra. These “peak experiences” typically involve moments of self-forgetfulness and a sense of great wonder. We simply cannot grasp the immensity of the Canyon or the colossal challenge of building the Great Pyramid. Any amazing or information-rich encounter that challenges one’s ability to comprehend can elicit awe. For instance, people can also experience awe when they are exposed to new scientific theories, scientific discoveries, or novel religious and philosophical perspectives outside their perceived norm. Consequently, many psychologists study awe in terms of learning theory and cognitive development. In that sense, awe is an emotion that arises when we try to comprehend or accommodate new information that challenges, disorients, or overwhelms our existing knowledge structures. Read More 
 
 Michelle Lani Shiota Professor of psychology at Arizona State University. More than 4.5 million people visited the Grand Canyon National Park in 2013; more than 3.5 million visited Yosemite. That same year, worldwide revenues for Cirque du Soleil, the Quebecois theatrical venture emphasizing extreme feats of acrobatics and agility, were close to $850 million. Fireworks displays, first developed in seventh-century China, are now featured in celebrations throughout the world at tremendous public expense. The Hubble telescope, which provides our most vivid images of outer space, initially cost $1.5 billion to launch—and accumulated costs of the project have been estimated at over $10 billion. A behavioral scientist looks at these numbers and asks, Why? Why do people spend huge amounts of time, effort, and money on these apparently pointless activities? An economist might conclude that they are all an appalling waste of resources. Why are fireworks, circuses, and images of distant space experienced as so moving and meaningful, when they offer neither material nor social reward? Read More ||||| News 
 
 Being in Awe Can Expand Time and Enhance Well-Being 
 
 It doesn’t matter what we’ve experienced – whether it’s the breathtaking scope of the Grand Canyon, the ethereal beauty of the Aurora Borealis, or the exhilarating view from the top of the Eiffel Tower – at some point in our lives we’ve all had the feeling of being in a complete and overwhelming sense of awe. 
 
 Awe seems to be a universal emotion, but it has been largely neglected by scientists—until now. 
 
 Psychological scientists Melanie Rudd and Jennifer Aaker of Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management devised a way to study this feeling of awe in the laboratory. Across three different experiments, they found that jaw-dropping moments made participants feel like they had more time available and made them more patient, less materialistic, and more willing to volunteer time to help others. 
 
 The researchers found that the effects that awe has on decision-making and well-being can be explained by awe’s ability to actually change our subjective experience of time by slowing it down. Experiences of awe help to brings us into the present moment which, in turn, adjusts our perception of time, influences our decisions, and makes life feel more satisfying than it would otherwise. 
 
 Now that’s awesome. 
 
 The study, “Awe Expands People’s Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making, and Enhances Well-Being,” will be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. ||||| Irvine, Calif., Sept. 13, 2016 – Regularly snapping selfies with your smartphone and sharing photos with your friends can help make you a happier person, according to computer scientists at the University of California, Irvine. In a first-of-its-kind study published just before back-to-school season, the authors found that students can combat the blues with some simple, deliberate actions on their mobile devices. 
 
 By conducting exercises via smartphone photo technology and gauging users’ psychological and emotional states, the researchers found that the daily taking and sharing of certain types of images can positively affect people. The results of the study out of UCI’s Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences were published recently in the Psychology of Well-Being. 
 
 “Our research showed that practicing exercises that can promote happiness via smartphone picture taking and sharing can lead to increased positive feelings for those who engage in it,” said lead author Yu Chen, a postdoctoral scholar in UCI’s Department of Informatics. “This is particularly useful information for returning college students to be aware of, since they face many sources of pressure.” 
 
 These stressors – financial difficulties, being away from home for the first time, feelings of loneliness and isolation, and the rigors of coursework – can negatively impact students’ academic performance and lead to depression. 
 
 “The good news is that despite their susceptibility to strain, most college students constantly carry around a mobile device, which can be used for stress relief,” Chen said. “Added to that are many applications and social media tools that make it easy to produce and send images.” 
 
 The goal of the study, she said, was to help researchers understand the effects of photo taking on well-being in three areas: self-perception, in which people manipulated positive facial expressions; self-efficacy, in which they did things to make themselves happy; and pro-social, in which people did things to make others happy. 
 
 Chen and her colleagues designed and conducted a four-week study involving 41 college students. The subjects – 28 female and 13 male – were instructed to continue their normal day-to-day activities (going to class, doing schoolwork, meeting with friends, etc.) while taking part in the research. 
 
 But first each was invited to the informatics lab for an informal interview and to fill out a general questionnaire and consent form. The scientists helped students load a survey app onto their phones to document their moods during the first “control” week of the study. Participants used a different app to take photos and record their emotional states over the following three-week “intervention” phase. 
 
 Subjects reported their moods three times a day using the smartphone apps. In evening surveys, they were asked to provide details of any significant events that may have affected their emotions during the course of the day. 
 
 The project involved three types of photos to help the researchers determine how smiling, reflecting and giving to others might impact users’ moods. The first was a selfie, to be taken daily while smiling. The second was an image of something that made the photo taker happy. The third was a picture of something the photographer believed would bring happiness to another person (which was then sent to that person). Participants were randomly assigned to take photos of one type. 
 
 Researchers collected nearly 2,900 mood measurements during the study and found that subjects in all three groups experienced increased positive moods. Some participants in the selfie group reported becoming more confident and comfortable with their smiling photos over time. The students taking photos of objects that made them happy became more reflective and appreciative. And those who took photos to make others happy became calmer and said that the connection to their friends and family helped relieve stress. 
 
 “You see a lot of reports in the media about the negative impacts of technology use, and we look very carefully at these issues here at UCI,” said senior author Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics. “But there have been expanded efforts over the past decade to study what’s become known as �?positive computing,’ and I think this study shows that sometimes our gadgets can offer benefits to users.” 
 
 About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu. 
 
 Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
– News that's kind of, well, awesome: Research suggests that the feeling of awe offers a health boost, and it actually happens quite frequently. "Some people feel awe listening to music," University of California, Berkeley, researcher Dacher Keltner tells the New York Times, "others watching a sunset or attending a political rally or seeing kids play." When a moment has "passed the goosebumps test," his team finds, it has a physical effect that can be detected in your saliva. Based on two sets of surveys of and saliva samples from freshmen at the school, Keltner's team found an apparent link between low levels of the molecule interleukin-6—associated with inflammation, and thus unhealthiness—and positive feelings. In the study, published in January in the journal Emotion, researchers note that "awe was the strongest predictor of lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines." And students actually experienced it fairly frequently: at least three times weekly on average, the Times reports. Awe itself is the subject of increasing scientific interest, Slate notes; indeed a 2012 study found that after experiencing awe, participants felt "like they had more time available" and were in turn more patient and willing to help others. Writing for Slate, Keltner himself recommends that we "seek more daily awe," noting that researchers have linked it to a sense of community and even more kindness. And he drives home the idea that awe can be found in moments as simple as "after the perfect burrito." (Optimism, meanwhile, may have other benefits.)