How looking up can boost your wellbeing – according to 'Skychology'

With a vast array of meditation and mindfulness techniques to choose from, how do you know which one is right for you? Would a sound bath be more beneficial than journalling? Or how about the emerging trends of ecotherapy and forest bathing?

Looking after your wellbeing can sometimes feeling overwhelming and can even be costly – some classes can be upwards of £15. But self-care doesn’t have to
be hard work, or expensive.

Paul Conway is a life coach, a coaching psychologist and founder of Successful Humans. He recently created a new area of research called skychology, which is the study of how looking up at the sky can positively impact our wellbeing. It’s a form of positive psychology, which is the scientific study of what makes humans flourish.

‘Positive psychology came to prominence in the late Nineties,’ explains Paul. ‘Traditional psychology focuses more on the cause, symptoms and elimination of mental illness, while positive psychology looks at the strengths, capacities and potentials we already possess, and how we can use these to enhance the quality of our lives.

‘The arrival of positive psychology has led to an explosion in research exploring links between wellbeing and our connection with nature.

‘Skychology is a completely new field that I’m researching and has links to the wonder of awe – another relatively new area of research that’s exploding in popularity.’

Not to be confused with stargazing, which is finding mental silence in all things astral, Paul’s fascination with the sky started at a young age. He didn’t have a happy childhood and grew up surrounded by addiction. He says that looking up at the sky was his way of escaping and instantly made him feel better.

‘If looking up at the sky had always made me feel better, maybe it could help others feel better, too?’ he questions. And for his Masters, he started exploring the concept of skychology.

‘For my research, I used a qualitative method called Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) which focuses on how people make sense of their lived experiences, and what happens when particular experiences take on significance in their lives,’ he says.

‘The research found that looking at the sky was a valued experience for participants, and they would proactively seek it out. It appears to be an effective form of emotional self-regulation, like hitting the reset button, and people felt an almost immediate sense of calm and feeling “grounded by the sky”.

They also had a feeling of immediately coming back into the present moment and a greater sense of clarity and perspective. They also felt more connected, internally, and with the world around them. Looking up allows us to appreciate the bigger picture and see beyond the thoughts and feelings that are troubling us at that moment.’

Clinical neuroscientist, Dr Elisabeth Philipps, from health and wellbeing brand FourFive (fourfive.com), backs up this notion in that, watching clouds keeps us present as well as reminds us of the fleeting, passing and ever-changing nature of
things. ‘The sky is beautiful, changing colours and weather which can help us forget our problems and stay in the present moment,’ she says.

‘Staring at a blue sky instils peace, tranquillity, calmness and serenity, helping to reduce anxiety, aggression, as well as high blood pressure and heart rates. Blue is also considered to be trustworthy, loyal and dependable, which is reinforced by the constant large bodies of blue in our lives – the ocean and the sky.’

Give it a try

1. Find a safe place to pause and stop and look up at the sky. Take a couple of deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.

2. Notice what you see. Allow thoughts and feelings to come and go. Allow the clouds in the sky to come and go. Continue looking up for as long as you like – Paul Conway recommends at least 60 seconds.

3. Finish by taking a final deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. Pause. How do you feel? What feels different from before you stopped to look up at the sky?’

The vastness of the sky can also be linked to a feeling of awe, and while there are
different definitions of this emotion, Paul’s favourite is ‘the experience of humility and wonder, of adventure, towards living’, (psychologist Dr Kirk Schneider, 2017).

However, awe is a complex emotion that occurs when we perceive something so vast we cannot truly comprehend it. While it can be interpreted negatively with feelings of dread and fear, taken positively it can be a hugely powerful and positive experience.

‘The resulting process of “self-diminishment” makes us feel smaller and more humble, cultivating a greater sense of perspective and humility,’ says Paul. ‘Awe experiences promote pro-social behaviours such as altruism and humility – a character strength crucial to countering antisocial behaviours including
arrogance, entitlement and narcissism.

‘A recent study found individuals who experienced awe more frequently, reported higher levels of humility, were rated as being more humble by friends, cultivated a more balanced perception of their strengths and weaknesses and were more likely to acknowledge the contribution of external factors towards the achievement of personal accomplishments.

‘Studies have also highlighted links between awe experiences and psychological and physical wellbeing. One found those who experienced awe more frequently had better immune health and lower levels of inflammation in the body. Other
studies have identified links between awe experiences, reduced stress with an enhanced overall life satisfaction.’

According to Dr Philipps, the reason for these reactions is because the brain has two visual systems. ‘One is for interaction with space of the lower visual field, eg when we’re interacting with others and the world around us on our level, and the second visual system, which specialises in surveying “extrapersonal space”, the distant vistas above the horizon,’ she says.

‘This area of the brain is strongly activated during religious experiences, meditative activity, dreaming and any kind of artistic or creative activity that encourages us to reach beyond the bounds of nearby time and space into the infinite and eternal. By staring at the sky we’re triggering this special brain system.’

With the sky being always available and free, more research could provide a new sky-based approach to therapy.

As Paul says: ‘The future is looking up.’

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