Beauty and the Brain: The Case for Beauty in an Overwhelmed World

Because beauty isn’t a luxury - it’s a human right.

Hey there,

Katina here, Daydreamers’ Co-founder and Chief Science Officer. It feels like the world is slowly coming alive again, doesn’t it?

This time of year, especially since moving to California, there’s such a visual reminder of how effortlessly beautiful the world can be. One day, the ground is brown and bare; the next, wildflowers are bursting through the cracks in the sidewalk.

Honestly, it always catches me off guard.

If you’re like me, this shift can be subtle - almost too easy to miss. One minute, you’re listening to a podcast about the end of times (😭); the next, you glance up and catch the sky melting into a pastel masterpiece. Just as quickly, your attention snaps back to reality, back to the noise, back to the next thing you have to do.

But - if you let yourself pause, for just for a second, something within you settles.

In a world obsessed with efficiency and output, beauty has become an afterthought. Everything is optimized for speed, convenience, and mass production. Think about it: the apartments we live in are sad and gray. The stuff we buy is disposable and mass produced. Even in our daily routines, we rush from task to task, rarely - if ever - stopping to notice those wildflowers breaking through the cracks in the pavement.

You might even be reading this right now and thinking: Noticing beauty? Who has time for that?

Somewhere along the way, beauty became a luxury - an indulgence rather than a necessity. We’ve been conditioned to see it as something extra, reserved for those with time, money, or a fancy museum membership.

But the truth is: Beauty isn’t a luxury. It’s a fundamental human need.

The field of neuroaesthetics, or the study of how beauty impacts our brain, is growing rapidly - and research shows that experiencing beauty isn’t just pleasurable; it has tangible effects on stress reduction, cognitive function, and even healing.

Even more, by consciously seeking out our personal definition of beauty - whether in art, nature, or well-designed spaces - we can rewire our brains to notice it and appreciate it more deeply with time.

So, let’s explore why beauty shouldn’t be a privilege - but instead, a necessity that we all can take the time to see, create, and fight for in our everyday lives.

Beauty as Medicine: The Neuroscience of Aesthetic Well-Being

Beauty is one of those elusive topics, even for scientists.

It’s something that we know when we feel it, even if we can’t always explain why. That’s because beauty isn’t just an aesthetic experience - it’s a neurological and emotional phenomenon that shapes how we feel, think, and connect with the world around us.

It’s something we feel before we can explain it. A song that stops us in our tracks, a sunset that makes us pause, a moment of symmetry or color that just looks right.

Across time and disciplines, people have tried to put it into words. Einstein described his mathematical theories as “beautiful” because they had a sense of deep order. Poet John Keats famously said, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty."

Explains a lot 🤔

From my perspective their definitions, while amorphous, often circle around the same idea: Beauty is a feeling of deep resonance, awe, harmony, or meaning. Basically, it’s whatever moves us, opens us up, and connects us to something bigger than ourselves.

Neuroscientists have found that encountering beauty in any form activates the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine, the same neurotransmitter linked to love, motivation, and pleasure. It’s wired into us to find beauty rewarding. And beyond momentary pleasure, beauty plays a deeper role in stress regulation, emotional resilience, and cognitive function.

Even more, research has shown that beauty isn't just a passive experience - it actively improves our mental and physical health.

One of my favorite studies found that hospital patients who had flowers in their rooms reported lower stress, improved mood, and even faster recovery times compared to those without natural beauty in their environment. The presence of aesthetically pleasing elements directly influenced their well-being, proving that beauty isn’t just a luxury - it can be a true healing force.

Similarly, research on awe - one of the most profound forms of aesthetic experience - found that people who regularly experience awe (whether from nature, art, or meaningful moments) had lower stress levels, greater emotional connection, and even bigger smiles - literally - in response to everyday life. Awe has been linked to increased feelings of time expansion, generosity, and even reduced inflammation in the body.

Beauty, in its many forms, shifts our brain into a state of openness and connection - to ourselves, to each other, and to the world around us.

So, instead of trying to define beauty logically, think about it this way: Beauty isn’t something to be explained - it’s something to be felt.

It’s an experience, a resonance, a way of seeing the world that expands us. And in a time when life often feels overwhelming, cultivating beauty isn’t just about aesthetics - it’s about mental and emotional survival.

Because ultimately, it isn’t just something nice to look at - it’s something our brains need to function optimally.

---

A visual perspective: Aesthetics then and now.

The Paradox: We Crave Beauty, Yet We've Stopped Prioritizing It

The issue isn’t that beauty has disappeared - it’s that we’ve stopped making space for it.

Beauty was once woven into daily life: cathedrals built to inspire awe, clothing crafted by hand, meals prepared with care. Now, speed and efficiency have taken precedence. We live in a world of mass production, disposable goods, and infinite scrolling, where artistry is often overshadowed by output.

The result? We’ve numbed ourselves to beauty, even though we crave it.

So, in our world that prioritizes productivity over presence, we have to be intentional about rediscovering beauty. It’s an active practice.

Neuroscience tells us that aesthetic appreciation requires time and attention. When we rush through experiences - like half-listening to a song in the background - our brains don’t fully process their depth. Research shows that slowing down enhances our ability to extract meaning, emotion, and connection from what’s around us.

This is where the psychological concept of savoring comes in.

Savoring is one of my favorite concepts in our world of Creative Health. It’s the practice of deliberately pausing to fully absorb an experience. Studies show that when we consciously notice beauty - whether it’s the way sunlight filters through your window in the morning or the texture of your mug in your hands - we extend positive emotions, lower stress, and strengthen memory.

At Daydreamers, we believe creativity is one of the most powerful ways to retrain your brain to see beauty again. We actually have an entire section of our platform dedicated to slowing down, engaging your senses, and reconnecting with beauty in the world in a way that feels meaningful.

Because in a world that often feels overwhelming, choosing to notice beauty might just be the most radical act of all. With us?

- Katina

Daydreamers’ Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer

---

Let’s Build A More Beautiful, Creative World

At Daydreamers, we believe beauty isn’t something we passively consume - it’s something we can actively cultivate. And strengthening your creativity is the key to seeing the world with more wonder, depth, and meaning.

When you join Daydreamers, you’re not just unlocking your own Creative Health - you’re helping us build a world where resources like this newsletter are free for everyone to access. Ready to help us make the world a more creative place?

---

Creative Health Protocol 🧠

This newsletter is the what, and the Daydreamers platform is the how - your guide to turning Creative Health insights into real, tangible action. Here’s a peek.

Noticing Soft Fascination

• What it is: Soft fascination is a psychological term describing the effortless attention we give to the natural world, like watching the clouds go by. By gently holding our focus on something beautiful in your environment, it restores our mental energy, reduces stress and opens up our capacity for creative thought.

• How you can experiment with it: We’ve designed our Noticing prompts inside the Daydreamers platform to help you tap into soft fascination - no matter where you are. One of our favorite ways to do that? Go on Awe Walks. This week you can try it at home by stepping outside (or looking out your window) and gently observe something natural that catches your eye - a shadow shifting, leaves rustling, light reflecting off a surface. Let your mind wander without effort and see what it shifts in your creative brain.

---

What We’re Loving This Week 🪐

We’re all about simplicity, clarity and depth - so instead of overwhelming you with a random mix of news, here’s one standout idea, read, brand or project that’s really supporting our Creative Health this week.

The Field of Neuroaesthetics

Neuroaesthetics is the scientific study of how our brains perceive, process, and respond to beauty and aesthetic experiences. We’re huge fans at Daydreamers because it captures so much of what we do - think of it as a combination of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy to understand why beauty moves us and how it impacts our emotions, cognition, and well-being.

📚 A deep dive: The Aesthetic Brain by Anjan Chatterjee explores why we’re drawn to art, music, and nature from a neuroscience perspective.

🖼 Creative thinkers to follow: The International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins is leading research on how art and beauty impact brain function and healing.

Tell us in the comments: How do you experience beauty in your daily life? Tell us in the comments! 🧠✨

---

We’re on a mission to reach 100,000 Creative Brains - because Creative Health isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s essential for our individual and collective well-being. If you’re loving these insights, chances are, someone in your world will too.

Forward this to a friend who could use more creativity, flow, and inspiration in their life. Let’s build a movement where creativity isn’t an afterthought - it’s the foundation for a healthier, more vibrant world..