I have admired many sunsets on my twilight walks. Just seeing a sunset makes me feel relaxed and peaceful. It’s a good activity to calm our fears about the pandemic.
According to Linda Wasmer Andrews July 16, 2014 article “How Admiring the Sunset Changes You for the Better” in Psychology Today, the psychological effects of admiring the sunset may persist long after the color has faded. Studies show that appreciating natural beauty may boost well-being, increase generosity and enhance life satisfaction. The key is to actively engage with the experience. To reap the rewards of that sunset, you need to stop whatever else you’re doing and really notice and appreciate the show in the sky.
Three Benefits of Sunset Gazing
Allowing yourself to be captivated by a sunset may have a number of psychological benefits.
Emotional well-being. In general, people who feel connected with nature report being happier and having more positive emotions than those who don’t share this connection. Yet it’s clear that some people get more joy from an hour in the park than others.
A recent study led by Jia Wei Zhang at the University of California, Berkeley, helps explain why: Researchers found that connectedness with nature only predicted well-being in people who were attuned to the beauty of nature. Need to tune up your awareness of natural beauty? It’s hard to beat simply sitting outside and soaking up a stunning sunset.
Concern for others. Another study by Zhang found that the positive emotions aroused by natural beauty led to increased prosociality — feelings and behaviors characterized by a concern for others. In one experiment, volunteers first looked at pictures of nature scenes and then played a game, which allowed them to be generous or stingy about giving away points to other players. The nature images had been pre-rated to determine how beautiful people thought they were. Volunteers who viewed beautiful nature images gave away more points, compared to those who viewed less attractive pictures. In short, it wasn’t just looking at nature that put people in a generous mood. It was perceiving the beauty of nature — and a sunset is a prime example of that.
Satisfaction with life. Beauty enriches life, making it more rewarding. One study found that greater engagement with beauty was associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, gratitude and a spiritual outlook. The association was strongest for engagement with natural beauty, as compared to artistic beauty (such as a painting, symphony or poem) or moral beauty (such as an act of charity, loyalty or kindness). One theory is that appreciation for the beauty of nature is so powerful because it’s instinctual rather than learned. There’s a natural tendency to stop and stare at a breathtaking sunset. When you do so, you’re likely to be caught up in the moment, and your mind gets a break from fretting over the past or worrying about the future. Afterward, you feel refreshed, and life just seems a little better.
According to data recently gathered by SpaSeekers, a whopping 286 million images of sunsets were uploaded to Instagram over the last year. Laura Begley Bloom’s June 28, 2018 article “The Most Beautiful Sunsets In The World” in Forbes transports us to our psychological nirvana.
Sometimes the best sunsets are in your own backyard. Here, environmental activist Caroline Gleich takes in last light over the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, the largest and closest open space to Los Angeles. In 2014 President Obama used the Antiquities Act to protect the nearly 350,000 acres for the 15 million people in the city.
Meg Haywood Sullivan is a photographer and environmentalist whose career has taken her from shooting a feature with National Geographic Adventure about the last remaining glacier in Yosemite to documenting the California National Monuments that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke proposed to shrink.
Travel blogger Christina Vidal said, “I took this photo at Single Fin Beach Club in Uluwatu, Bali. The stunning Uluwatu coastline is my favorite area of the island — because of its sunsets. Bali sunsets are unlike anywhere else in the world. On a good, just-cloudy-enough day, the colors explode like fireworks and stretch for miles across the sky. This sunset lit the sky on fire. It was also the very first sunset I ever saw in Bali — before deciding to move there and pursue my travel blog full-time. There's a bit of magic in Bali that is evident in every sunset. I knew the second I saw this sunset that I was meant to be here.”
Luxury travel photographer Christina Tan said, “I never get tired of Paris. Its art and culture, high fashion, beautiful architecture and sophisticated dining scene all blends into one factor that keeps me coming back. It was raining most of the time I was in Paris during that trip, but amazingly, one evening when I was strolling around the Louvre, the sky suddenly opened up and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen in Paris.”
Photographer Stacie Flinner has visited over 70 countries in the last 18 months. She said, “The view of the Sydney Opera House from Mrs. Macquarie's Chair — an outlook across the harbor — is one of the most picturesque places to capture a sunset Down Under. Pack a picnic to enjoy while watching the sun dip behind one of the 20th century's most iconic buildings. I love snapping photos of smaller boats passing under the shadow of the opera house's theatrical sail-like silhouette.”
Self-taught Paris-based photographer Mary Quincy said, “London has always been one of my favorite cities — in wintertime or summertime. But catching a sunset around Westminster is — and always will be — one of those moments when you have to stop, sit and watch it happen. Time stops; people keep walking, but the sight is just wonderful."
Photographer Meagan Cignoli has led campaigns for over 250 major brands including Clinique, Google, YSL, Nike and HBO. She has traveled to over 50 countries and said, “This was taken my first night in Ibiza at Experimental, a white and blue experience along the beach at the end of the Salinas. They have music, food and a little pier. And the sunset over the mountains with the planes flying through it? It’s magical.”
British travel blogger Jennifer Tuffen said, “Cappadocia in Turkey is a magical land of hot-air balloons, underground cities and whimsical fairy chimneys. It's one of my favorite places in the world and definitely one of my favorite spots to watch a beautiful sunset. We hike above the fairy chimneys and sit and watch as the setting sun changes the color of the lunar-like landscape below.”
Labor and delivery nurse turned travel blogger Nastasia Yakoub said, “Upon landing in the Maldives, I was greeted with pretty much the opposite of what most travelers hope to see — rain, gloomy clouds and a dreary looking ocean. However, as the storm passed, the skies opened up into a kaleidoscope of vivid colors, bursting bright oranges and deep purples filled up every corner of my view. The clouds seemed closer to the surface of the water than ever, and I was left in total awe. It was a sight I truly hope to never forget.”
Originator of the website Girl Eats World where she records her travel and food stories, Melissa Hie said, “I love this sunset because it came totally unexpected for me. The sunset in Australia is always quite dramatic, but I didn't expect this one since Bicheno is located in the east coast of Australia and normally not great for sunsets. As I was walking down the beach of Bicheno, the sky suddenly turned a dramatic orange before changing to a mellow pink and turning dark. Extremely beautiful.”
Turkey-based Hatice Korkmaz is a corporate branch manager at a bank who also takes stunning photos. She said, “Beau Vallon is the best beach in Seychelles to watch and capture the sunset. It's one of the longest and most popular beaches in Seychelles with its golden sand, clear water and plenty of activities like snorkeling, parasailing, scuba diving and more.”
Freelance writer, surfer, producer, environmentalist, feminist and public speaker Sophie Hellyer said, “I love the top of this hill in Doolin, between my house and the coast. Every time I’m coming home in the evening and I think the sunset will be good, I race up the hill to glimpse it before it drops away. This particular evening two of my best friends were visiting, and we caught the sunset on the way to the Doolin Folk Fest. The view out over the castle, Crab Island and onto the Aran Islands and Galway Bay is magic. You can’t not feel calm standing here looking out over the ocean at sunset.”
New York City-based design director, photographer and blogger Erica Choi said, “Whether you watch it on a boat or cruise from the Aegean Sea, or high above on the carved out cities and villages of Santorini, the sunsets here are famous for good reason. They definitely do not disappoint! From Oia, you can view the stunning colors against the caldera as well as from the Fira-Oia Hiking Trail. You can also reserve a table on the roof at Melitini near sunset time to enjoy the freshest seafood and a glass of wine while getting the amazing views.”
Los Angeles-based style and travel blogger — and former Miss USA 2011 — Alyssa Campanella said, “This was one of the most amazing sunsets I’ve ever been able to witness, occurring in southern Iceland at Reynisfjara just outside of Vik. There’s a peaceful serenity found on Iceland’s black sand beaches, and at sunset the beaches are decorated in an orange, pink, and purple glow as the sun sets in the distance on the horizon, signaling the end of another adventurous day in one of the most naturally beautiful locations in the world.”
Award-winning photographer and freelance travel writer Susan Portnoy said, “It was a cool fall night in the Mara Triangle in Kenya, and we were headed back to camp for the night. We’d had an amazing afternoon of wildlife sightings when a friend said, ‘All we need now is an elephant silhouetted against this amazing sunset.’ Everyone in the jeep nodded and mused how lovely that would be but none of us thought it would happen. Three minutes later, there she was — one of a few elephants grazing on a hill against a fiery pink sky. At first, we were dumbstruck, then we couldn’t stop laughing, quietly, about the coincidence. It was a wonderful way to end the day.”
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