Research shows that entering a state of 'flow' with extremely high concentration can improve mental health
The state of being completely absorbed in something, studying, playing sports, etc., and being able to concentrate at the highest level is called '
Can flow proneness be protective against mental and cardiovascular health problems? A genetically informed prospective cohort study - PubMed
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38480692/
Flow: people who are easily absorbed in an activity may have better mental and cardiovascular health
https://theconversation.com/flow-people-who-are-easily-absorbed-in-an-activity-may-have-better-mental-and-cardiovascular-health-227696
Flow is a psychological term that can usually be experienced during activities that are somewhat difficult but meet one's skill level. The image below is a diagram shown in a past study on flow, with the horizontal axis representing one's skill and the vertical axis representing the difficulty of the task. A task that is easy and one's skill is low causes apathy, a task that is easy but one's skill is high causes boredom, and a task that is difficult but one's skill causes anxiety. However, if the task is difficult and one's skill is associated with it, one can enter 'flow'. When one experiences flow, one tends to become very efficient, feel in control, and lose track of time.
While in flow, you can concentrate better and perform better, so it can be said to be a positive state. In addition, Miriam Mosing, a behavioral geneticist at the Karolinska Institute , a medical university in Sweden, explains whether the flow state has a more general positive effect on mental health than just a temporary positive effect.
According to Mossing, genetic factors play a role in whether or not one is susceptible to entering the flow state. In addition, environmental factors also play a role, but the ease with which one can experience the flow state varies from person to person, and a paper published by Chinese researchers in 2020 showed that 'being susceptible to entering the flow state may lead to many positive outcomes, including improved mental and cardiovascular health.'
However, most studies on flow have been based on small samples or self-reported data, so it is not possible to draw any conclusions about the causal effects of flow, Mossing points out. It is also possible that genetic factors that make it easier to enter flow have a direct positive effect on mental health regardless of flow. Similarly, even if a tendency is seen that 'people who enter flow have better mental health,' this may simply be the flip side of 'people with anxiety and stressful neurotic tendencies that prevent them from entering flow cannot improve their mental health.'
Using actual diagnoses from 9,300 people in a Swedish patient registry, Mosing and his colleagues investigated whether neuroticism influences the association between flow and mental health conditions, and whether family factors such as genetics and childhood environment play a role in flow. In addition, for the first time, they also examined whether mental health problems lead to reduced flow.
As a result, people who are more likely to experience a flow state have a lower risk of certain illnesses, including depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, stress-related disorders, and cardiovascular disease. When neuroticism and family factors were taken into account, flow was found to have a relatively low association only with depression and anxiety. 'This finding suggests that flow may have some protective effect against these mental health outcomes, but that the relationship is more complex than previously thought,' says Mosing.
Although it has been shown that entering flow can have a positive effect on the mind, Mossing points out that this does not mean that flow training should be undertaken to reduce the risk of depression or anxiety. There are some ideas on how to enter flow, but 'there is currently a lack of research on whether flow can be properly manipulated and what the results are when you manipulate it and intentionally enter flow,' Mossing said.
How do you get into a 'flow' state that maximizes your concentration and makes your work go faster?
There are many things that are unclear about flow, but when you experience it, you temporarily forget your worries about the future and become so engrossed in something you love that you lose all sense of space and time.
'There's a good chance that it's a good thing for you, at least in that moment,' Mosing said.
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