New longitudinal evidence suggests that moments of awe, even during pandemic isolation, may help buffer loneliness by strengthening feelings of connection beyond the self.
Study: Experiencing awe in daily life is linked to lower loneliness. Image Credit: Bricolage / Shutterstock
In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers investigated whether daily experiences of awe are associated with lower same-day loneliness and whether feelings of connectedness to nature may partly explain this association.
Loneliness and Psychological Distress During COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, between 75% and 93% of healthcare workers reported distress states such as stress, anxiety, frustration, or exhaustion, and 55% reported loneliness. Loneliness, defined as a painful subjective experience resulting from insufficient social connection, has been linked in observational research to depression, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and substance misuse.
Healthcare workers are particularly vulnerable to loneliness due to long shifts, emotional exhaustion, and reduced opportunities for social contact. Researchers have proposed that self-transcendent emotions, those that shift attention away from the self toward broader experiences, may reduce loneliness. Awe, which arises during encounters with vast, meaningful, or beautiful stimuli, may reduce self-focus and increase feelings of connection. Empirical evidence directly linking awe to loneliness has been limited.
Study Design and Participant Recruitment
Researchers recruited healthcare workers and community adults in May 2020, during the United States' pandemic lockdown. Healthcare workers were recruited from Northern California healthcare centers and other institutions nationwide, while community participants were recruited through the NorthBay Healthcare system and broader public outreach.
All procedures were approved by the NorthBay Healthcare Institutional Review Board (IRB), and informed consent was obtained in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Participants completed a baseline survey assessing loneliness using a shortened version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, baseline awe, demographic characteristics, and health status. Two days later, they attended a 60-minute online orientation session and then completed 22 consecutive days of daily diary surveys in June 2020.
Daily Measures of Awe, Loneliness, and Nature-Connectedness
Each day, participants reported their levels of awe, loneliness, and connectedness to nature using established single-item measures. The connectedness item assessed feelings of connection to plants, nature imagery, sounds, or surrounding environments, rather than broader social connectedness.
Participants also reported other positive emotions experienced that day, such as contentedness, pride, gratitude, amusement, compassion, and love, which were statistically controlled in analyses to isolate the unique effects of awe.
Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling to account for repeated daily observations nested within individuals. Multilevel mediation analyses using Bayesian estimation were conducted to test whether daily connectedness to nature mediated the relationship between awe and loneliness.
Daily Awe Linked to Lower Same-Day Loneliness
The final sample included 171 healthcare workers, contributing 3,412 daily observations, and 306 community participants, contributing 6,212 daily observations. Participants were predominantly female and middle-aged, reflecting the demographic distribution of healthcare workers during the pandemic.
Within-person analyses showed that on days when healthcare workers experienced higher-than-usual levels of awe, they reported significantly lower loneliness that same day. This association remained significant after controlling for baseline awe, baseline loneliness, age, gender, time, and other positive emotions.
Similar patterns emerged in the community sample, indicating the association was not limited to frontline healthcare professionals. After adjusting for general positive emotionality, awe uniquely predicted lower same-day loneliness. These findings reflect daily associations rather than evidence of long-term change or causation.
Awe and Daily Connectedness to Nature
The second hypothesis examined whether daily awe predicted stronger feelings of connectedness. On days when participants reported greater awe, they also reported increased connectedness to nature or their environment. This relationship remained significant after controlling for baseline characteristics and other positive emotions.
In both healthcare and community samples, daily awe significantly predicted higher levels of nature-connectedness. Connectedness was assessed using a single item and did not measure broader social belonging or interpersonal connection.
Partial Mediation by Nature-Connectedness
The third hypothesis tested whether connectedness to nature mediated the relationship between awe and loneliness. Multilevel mediation analyses indicated a statistically significant indirect effect in both samples. Daily awe predicted higher connectedness, which in turn predicted lower same-day loneliness.
The mediation was partial, meaning connectedness to nature explained part, but not all, of the association between awe and loneliness. While this suggests a plausible psychological pathway, the observational design prevents conclusions about causal direction. Lower loneliness may facilitate greater openness to awe, or other unmeasured variables may influence both experiences.
Effect Sizes and Contextual Considerations
Although effect sizes were small, they were consistent across healthcare workers and community participants. These findings were observed during one of the most socially isolating periods in recent history.
Even during long hospital shifts and pandemic lockdowns, moments of awe, such as experiencing nature, music, or meaningful human acts, were associated with lower same-day loneliness. Generalizability beyond the pandemic context remains uncertain.
The study did not test whether inducing awe reduces loneliness over time, nor did it measure broader forms of social connectedness beyond nature-related feelings.
Psychological Implications and Future Directions
This research provides longitudinal diary evidence that daily experiences of awe are associated with lower same-day loneliness in both healthcare workers and community adults. The findings suggest awe may function as a psychological resource, particularly during collective crises characterized by social isolation.
However, the observational design, reliance on single-item measures for connectedness, and pandemic-specific context limit causal inference and broader generalization. Experimental studies are needed to determine whether cultivating awe can produce sustained reductions in loneliness or improvements in mental health.
Overall, the findings support the hypothesis that self-transcendent emotional experiences may reduce loneliness, at least in part by increasing feelings of connection to the broader environment. Awe may represent a potentially valuable psychological resource for individuals at elevated risk of loneliness and distress, though further research is required to confirm causal effects and long-term benefits.
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