Peter Moore: The health benefits of taking in a view

Driving home after a family holiday I turned the corner at the top of the Wapperwell dip and realised what an amazing view we have across to Dartmoor.

I must have driven this road thousands of times but never really appreciated how stunning it is. I now realise that it is more than just a beautiful view. It can improve your health. 

Despite having lived in Devon for nearly fifty years I am still amazed when I look across the Bay or walk on Dartmoor. We do live in a beautiful place. I could even use the word awesome. 

There has now been some research to support something I have long suspected. A daily dose of awe eases stress and depression.  Scientists from the Yale University in America showed that we do not need to travel far or wait for a dramatic sunset.

A daily dose of awe, just looking at a beautiful leaf or looking across the Bay can improve symptoms of depression and overall wellbeing. 

They looked at sixty-eight people suffering from long covid. Half were asked to carry on as usual and half were asked to pause a few times a day to look for anything which provoked wonder. They did not have to download a wellness app or read a wellness magazine. Just enjoy everyday beauty. 

After a month the people who had set time aside for awe had lower levels of stress and fewer symptoms of depression. To put it into figures there was a 17% reduction in symptoms of depression, 12% reduction in symptoms of stress and a 16% increase in wellbeing. 

Earlier research has suggested that awe can reduce inflammation and improve the cardiovascular system. 

As I showed when I was awestruck by the view from the A380 we do not always realise what is in front of us, and I do not mean the caravan in front. Sometimes we have to stop in our everyday lives to appreciate beauty. 

I can also be awestruck by incredible music. Music is personal but I can close my eyes and listen to Mozart or Beethoven, but not when I am driving. Others may get lost in heavy rock. 

It is not always easy in a busy life to pause. The boss may not be too happy if all the workers were staring out of the window looking awestruck. As this research showed the real message is to create the time. It is not impossible. We can all use the time when we might otherwise be looking at the phone or listening to the radio. 

Is this a twenty first century problem? Reading the romantic poets like Coleridge or looking at Constable paintings it is clear they understood the awe in nature. People lived close to the land. Before the industrial revolution very few people lived in cities. 

Today living in towns, getting entertainment on screens, do we ever look up? When we can buy fresh fruit and vegetables all year round it is easy to forget there are four seasons. 

Although we travel more than our ancestors do we see more? When walking or riding on horseback people could look around and see the countryside. Today we drive at high speed on a motorway. Even the passengers may be on their phones. 

I realised we have a crazy reliance on tech when I was with our son and family. “What’s the weather like” someone asked. We all took our phones out to check.  Our son, who has a master’s degree in IT and works in computers, was the one to say, “have you tried looking out of the window?”

He was right. We should all look out of the window more. It is not just the fresh air and exercise but the awesome views of Devon. We should all walk in the countryside. 

I doubt that anyone is awestruck reading my column but if they are I hope they find it full of awe not awful.