When the air feels heavy: How visceral stuffiness shifts well-being priorities

When the air feels heavy and breathing becomes strained, the resulting visceral state may cause our motivational compass to quietly tilt. This study investigates whether the experience of visceral stuffiness can temporarily recalibrate individuals' well-being priorities by increasing the salience of hedonic (pleasure-oriented) over eudaimonic (meaning-oriented) motivation and whether this motivational shift is reflected in subsequent decisions involving a trade-off between hedonic enjoyment and meaningful engagement. The results (N = 296) indicate that greater feelings of stuffiness were associated with stronger momentary preferences for happiness over meaning, suggesting that even mild bodily discomfort can influence well-being motivation. However, this shift in priorities did not consistently carry over to downstream choices, revealing a potential dissociation between what individuals value in the moment and what they ultimately decide. These findings highlight how subtle visceral states can shape how people navigate the happiness-meaning dilemma by temporarily altering the psychological weight of each ideal.