How to find the amazing in the ordinary and why it is useful

Wonderment makes you feel the present moment, feel part of something more. And this extends our perception of time and helps to enjoy life.

Wonderment reduces inflammation and expands perception of time

Researchers from the University of California at Berkeley decided to test how the surprise affects the body. For this they conducted an experiment: during the day they observed the mood of the volunteers and measured the level of cytokine content in their saliva. Cytokines are molecules that help cells interact. They give a signal when the cells need to move to the inflamed or damaged areas of the body. Elevated levels of cytokines are associated with illness and depression.

It turned out that those participants who experienced positive emotions, especially surprise or admiration, much lower levels of tsitokinaPositive affect and markers of inflammation: discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. called interleukin 6.

Wonderment is a natural anti-inflammatory drug.

Classes that cause us astonishment and admiration (walking in nature, immersion in music, contemplation of art), directly affect our health.

Perhaps you will think that you simply do not have time for this. But, as it turned out, surprisingly itself expands our sense vremeniAwe Expands People's Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making, and Enhances Well-Being. And this is also confirmed by a scientific experiment.

Scientists aroused the participants' feelings of happiness or admiration with the help of video clips and then checked how these states affect the perception of time. Watching a bright video with happy people noted the feeling of time compression. And the participants of the second group, who were shown a video with nature cadres, which caused admiration, celebrated a sense of time.

How to find the amazing in everyday life

You can always find a minute to experience admiration and surprise. For example, even sitting in a traffic jam. Imagine the interconnectedness of all people, as each your step depends on the actions of others. Or think how many people at the same time are experiencing the same thing as you.

Brewing coffee in the morning, too, you can find a lot of amazing. Think about the distance you covered the coffee beans before you are in your kitchen, how many hands you have passed, on what land you grew. Feel yourself a link of a huge chain of people, united by the morning ritual of making coffee.

Admiration can cause the most ordinary things.

Stop and pay attention to singing birds, passers-by, leaves on trees, clouds in the sky, graffiti on the walls of houses, music. Try to constantly notice such trifles.