

This might be because feeling flow helped distract them from worrying. Research also shows that people who experienced stronger feelings of flow had better well-being during the COVID-19 quarantine compared to people who had weaker experiences. In fact, studies have shown that experiencing flow can help guard against depression and burnout. Part of this is because flow can help refocus thoughts away from something stressful to something enjoyable. Focus on finding games that help you feel flow, rather than on spending more time playing games.Ī recent study also shows that flow helps people stay resilient in the face of adversity. Research shows that spending a lot of time playing video games only has a very small influence on your overall well-being.

Importantly, quality – and not necessarily quantity – matters.

Their thoughts are focused on an experience rather than on themselves. When people feel flow, they are in a state of intense concentration. Psychologists Jeanne Nakamura and Csíkszentmihályi describe it as something more. People often say flow is like "being in the zone". Our goal is to better understand how the experience happens and to make it easier for people to feel flow and its benefits. My research lab investigates what is happening in our brains when people experience flow. I am an assistant professor of communication and cognitive science, and I have been studying flow for the last 10 years. In short, we are completely absorbed in a highly rewarding activity – and not in our inner monologues – when we feel flow. In the years since, researchers have gained a vast store of knowledge about what it is like to be in flow and how experiencing it is important for our overall mental health and well-being. One characterized by immense joy that makes a life worth living. He has called it the " secret to happiness." Flow is a state of "optimal experience" that each of us can incorporate into our everyday lives. Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's research on flow started in the 1970s.
