Ever wondered why being 'in the zone' feels incredibly satisfying? A communication scientist unravels the mystery behind the euphoria of 'flow', a state of deep focus and immersion. Prepare to delve into the science of this fascinating psychological phenomenon.
Flow is the “secret to happiness”
Flow is a state of “optimal experience” that each of us can incorporate into our everyday lives
- We are completely absorbed in a highly rewarding activity – and not in our inner monologues – when we feel flow
- The goal is to better understand how this happens and to make it easier for people to feel flow
Why is it good to feel flow?
It can help people pursue their long-term goals
- Taking a break to do something fun can help enhance one’s self-control, goal pursuit and well-being
- Flow helps people stay resilient in the face of adversity
- Studies have shown that experiencing flow can help guard against depression and burnout
What is your brain doing during flow?
Researchers have been studying flow for nearly 50 years, but only recently have they begun to decipher what is going on in the brain during flow
- René Weber proposes that flow is associated with a specific brain-network configuration
- Supporting Weber’s hypothesis, studies show that the experience is related to activity in brain structures implicated in feeling reward and pursuing our goals
- Flow is also associated with decreased activity in regions of the brain implicated in self-focus, which may help explain why feeling flow can help distract people from worry
- A video game called Asteroid Impact helps us better study flow
What it is like to be in flow?
People often say flow is like “being in the zone.” Psychologists Jeanne Nakamura and Csíkszentmihályi describe it as something more
- When people feel flow, they are in a state of intense concentration, their thoughts are focused on an experience rather than on themselves, and they have control over the situation.
- Flow experiences are intrinsically rewarding.
What more can the brain tell us?
Right now, researchers do not know how brain responses associated with flow contribute to well-being.
- With very few exceptions, there is almost no research on how, and therefore no conclusive evidence that flow is actually caused by, brain activity in the areas of the brain associated with thinking about ourselves, dampening activation in structures associated with negative thoughts and increasing activation in reward-processing regions.
What causes flow?
Flow occurs when a task’s challenge is balanced with one’s skill
- So long as the task’s challenge is high and so are your skills, you should be able to achieve flow
- People can experience flow by using interactive media like playing a video game
