FLOW STATE IN SPORT

How to unlock your true athletic potential

Flow state, or otherwise known as being in ‘the zone’, is a mental state where the individual is completely absorbed in an activity and their level of focus is heightened to such a degree that everything else disappears, you lose your sense of self, space and time, your mind goes quiet and your actions happen effortlessly. The founder of the term Flow State describes it as:

“a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it” – Csikszentmihalyi, 1990

Understanding the cognitive processes responsible for this state will help us understand how to achieve flow. Athletes in flow often report reaching the apex of their abilities and levels of fulfilment that are unrivalled in the rest of their lives.

UNDERLYING MECHANISM OF FLOW

Neurological research in the field of flow state have found that individuals experience hypofrontality when in flow state. This means that there is less activity in the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain that governs planning and thinking, resulting in more energy directed towards other parts of our brain that govern skill execution and focus. As a…