UCSF Study Finds 15-Minute Awe Walks Lift Gratitude in 52 Older Adults

2 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jun 13

Fifty-two older adults who took weekly 15-minute “awe walks” for eight weeks reported higher gratitude and compassion, and lower daily distress, than a control group taking the same walks without the awe prompt.
A brief instruction made the difference: participants were told to focus on vastness and novelty around them, a setup researchers say may foster a “small self” perspective that shifts attention beyond personal concerns.
Selfies taken during the walks supported that pattern—people in the awe group gradually appeared smaller in the frame and smiled more broadly, though researchers described that image analysis as exploratory.
The 2020 UCSF study involved healthy adults with a median age of 75 and only moderate effects, leaving open whether the findings extend broadly; a later small dementia study hinted at similar benefits but remains limited evidence.