Editor's note: This story originally appeared in the winter 2023 issue of ASU Thrive magazine.
Want to add more happiness to your life?
Take some advice from Associate Professor Michelle “Lani” Shiota, who researches the science behind awe and other positive emotions.
Shiota says a way to improve mental health is to cultivate the feeling of awe.
“Awe is that feeling you get when you perceive something as extraordinary — something so different from what your mind is used to that it stops whatever it was doing to pay attention. It’s great for giving our racing thoughts a break, and putting our day-to-day hassles and demands into perspective,” she says.
“You don’t have to go to the Grand Canyon to experience awe. Just go to new places nearby, and look at what’s around you with fresh eyes. Even stopping to take in our incredible Arizona sunsets can evoke a moment of awe.”
Read more about Shiota's work on the impact of awe.
Top photo by Sabira Madady/ASU
More Science and technology
ASU professor honored with prestigious award for being a cybersecurity trailblazer
At first, he thought it was a drill.On Sept. 11, 2001, Gail-Joon Ahn sat in a conference room in Fort Meade, Maryland. The cybersecurity researcher was part of a group that had been invited…
Training stellar students to secure semiconductors
In the wetlands of King’s Bay, Georgia, the sail of a nuclear-powered Trident II Submarine laden with sophisticated computer equipment juts out of the marshy waters. In a medical center, a cardiac…
ASU startup Crystal Sonic wins Natcast pitch competition
Crystal Sonic, an Arizona State University startup, won first place and $25,000 at the 2024 Natcast Startup Pitch Competition at the National Semiconductor Technology Center Symposium, or NSTC…