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. 2023 Jun 8;13(1):9336.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35200-w.

The influences of daily experiences of awe on stress, somatic health, and well-being: a longitudinal study during COVID-19

María Monroy  1   2 , Özge Uğurlu  3 , Felicia Zerwas  3 , Rebecca Corona  3 , Dacher Keltner  3 , Jake Eagle  4 , Michael Amster  5
Affiliations

The influences of daily experiences of awe on stress, somatic health, and well-being: a longitudinal study during COVID-19

María Monroy et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

In the present work, we used daily diary methodology to investigate the influence of awe on stress, somatic health (e.g., pain symptoms), and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We recruited a sample of community adults (N = 269) and a sample of healthcare professionals (N = 145) in the United States. Across both samples, we found that awe and well-being increased, and stress and somatic health symptoms decreased over the 22-day diary period. In daily level analyses, we found that the more daily awe people experienced, the less stress, less somatic health symptoms, and greater well-being they felt. Daily experiences of awe can benefit individuals during times of acute and chronic stress-such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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