Could a 15-Minute “Awe Walk” Improve Your Mood? What the Research Suggests

A walk can give you fresh air and gentle movement. But what if changing what you pay attention to during that walk could also make the experience feel more uplifting?

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have studied a simple practice known as an “awe walk.” Instead of treating the walk as another task to complete, participants were encouraged to notice something vast, surprising or beautiful around them. The practice required no special equipment, destination or intense workout.

What Is an Awe Walk?

An awe walk is an ordinary walk with a deliberate shift in attention. You look outward for details that make the world feel larger than your immediate worries: tall trees, changing fall colors, cloud patterns, architecture, water, music drifting from a public space or the energy of a busy neighborhood.

Awe does not require a dramatic mountain view. It can arise from noticing complexity, scale or something unfamiliar in a place you usually pass without much thought.

What the Research Found

In the UCSF study, 52 healthy older adults were asked to take at least one 15-minute walk each week for eight weeks. Half received brief guidance encouraging them to seek moments of awe during their walks, while the comparison group simply walked.

The awe-walk group reported increases in positive social emotions, including compassion and gratitude, along with less distress in daily life. Researchers also examined selfies participants took during their walks. Over time, people in the awe group tended to make themselves smaller in the frame while showing more of the surrounding landscape, and their smiles became broader.

The findings are encouraging, but they should be kept in proportion. It was a small study focused on healthy older adults. An awe walk is not a treatment for depression, anxiety or another health condition, and the research does not prove that everyone will experience the same results.

Why Looking Outward May Feel Different

Many walks happen on autopilot. We replay conversations, check notifications or hurry toward the next obligation. An awe walk interrupts that pattern by giving attention a specific destination outside the self.

That shift may help everyday problems feel less consuming for a moment. It does not erase stress, but it can create a wider mental frame—one in which your current concern is present without occupying the entire picture.

How to Try a 15-Minute Awe Walk

Choose a safe route where you can walk without rushing. A park is ideal, but a neighborhood, garden, waterfront, museum courtyard or tree-lined street can work.

• Silence nonessential phone notifications before you begin.
• Walk at a comfortable pace rather than treating it as a fitness test.
• Look for scale, color, texture, movement and unexpected details.
• Pause when something captures your attention.
• Ask yourself what feels new about a familiar scene.

You do not have to force a profound emotional moment. Curiosity is enough. The goal is to become more available to what is around you.

Fall May Be an Especially Good Time to Start

Early fall naturally supplies change: cooler air, shifting light, migrating birds and leaves moving from green into red and gold. A route that looked ordinary in summer can feel different from one week to the next.

Try repeating the same walk weekly. Familiarity makes small changes easier to notice, and the routine removes the pressure to continually find a spectacular destination.

What If You Cannot Take a Traditional Walk?

The attention practice can be adapted. Sit near a window, move through a garden at your own pace or spend 15 minutes observing art, architecture or the sky. People with mobility or balance concerns should choose a safe, accessible setting and use any needed support.

The central idea is not distance. It is intentionally directing attention toward something larger, intricate or unexpectedly beautiful.

Keep Expectations Realistic

Awe walks fit best as one small part of a broader wellness routine. Sleep, social connection, enjoyable movement and professional support when needed still matter. If low mood or distress persists or interferes with daily life, speaking with a qualified health professional is more appropriate than relying on a walking practice alone.

You also do not need to document the experience or share it online. Leaving your phone in your pocket may make it easier to notice the setting without turning the walk into content.

The Bottom Line

A 15-minute awe walk is simple, free and easy to test. Small research suggests that deliberately noticing wonder during a weekly walk may support positive emotions and reduce everyday distress, particularly among older adults. The benefit may come less from going farther and more from paying attention differently.