Sometimes referred to as being ‘in the zone’, flow state is a place of deep immersion and total focus. MH looks under the hood
07 FLOW JAMZ A
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN…
01 SWEET SPOT
Flow state is a balancing point between boredom and stress, says Nicole Vignola, a neuroscientist and author of Rewire: Your Neurotoolkit For Everyday Life. The task can’t be so dull that you’re faced with ‘self-interruptions – internally generated thoughts, like stopping for coffee’. But the task can’t be so tricky that you become paralysed or procrastinate. It also benefits from a mix of intrinsic motivation – inner drive – and extrinsic motivation (eg, a deadline).
02 FEELING GOOD
During flow, dopamine – the neurotransmitter that plays a role in motivation and reward – is released in the nucleus accumbens. This is part of the basal ganglia, a group of brain structures also involved in habitforming. The activity becomes ‘self-rewarding’ – performed for its own sake – rather than the outcome alone, making you feel ‘euphoric and good about yourself ’, says Vignola. This in turn can diminish fatigue and discomfort.
03 LASER FOCUS
Norepinephrine is the neurotransmitter released during moments of stress, to keep you ‘aroused and alert’. Too much will take you out of flow state, but a little helps. It’s responsible for ‘determining which part of attention needs to be diverted to which task and removing competing stimuli’, says Vignola, and allows you to become fully immersed in the job at hand. It’s what cr
