We’ve all had days when we’ve felt super productive and unstoppable, but where does the energy come from?
People say, when one feels completely in the moment, time fades away, and he or she is solely focused on the task at hand. Right then and there, the magical “Flow State” occurred. This is also referred to as “runner’s high,” “in the zone,” “beast mode,” and “hyper-focused.”
I personally try to do something outside and physical every day of my life for both my mental and physical health. I am the first to admit however, that some days I must dig very deep to find the motivation to get outside and move my body. It is days like those where cannabis comes in handy. It instantly puts me in tune with my body and focuses my mind, so the activity becomes more interesting, and my aches/pains are no longer existent.
We sometimes feel this way when we’re doing something that is important, challenging to us, and a good match for our skills. Most people have heard the term “flow state” used in extreme sports, gaming, and business examples. Flow is the combination of being completely in the present moment and being focused and engaged on one challenging task. It’s almost trance-like. The main benefits of the flow state’ is that work or activity becomes enjoyable. One is completely present and time fades away. There are many ways to experience a flow state of mind and many of us probably have already experienced it before without even realizing it. Whether it be something creative like writing or something physical like mountain biking, so long as the task at hand presents enough of a challenge to meet our skills, then we can potentially tap into a flow state. Almost anything can be a flow experience and it isn’t isolated to high-adrenaline activities, however, exercise helps.
Many activities can induce a state of flow,” including:
- Writing
- Taking a walk
- Vacuuming the house
- Playing music
- Gaming
- Focusing at work
- Cycling
Flow is essential to doing meaningful deep work. When someone gets so much done and feels energized all the time, it’s like your brain is fully activated. In fact, people can sustain the state of flow for hours on end. How else do skiers ski for eight hours a day, or runners run 15 miles, or writers write a full book in two days? This is done by reaching and sustaining the flow state.
What is Flow State?
Positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi was the first person to define the term flow in the late 1960s. His research led him to describe the flow state as, “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”
It has been proven that flow contributes to overall human happiness and well-being. His findings were published in his 1975 book, “Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow in Work and Play.”
Csikszentmihalyi explains the sensation of being in a flow state in his TED Talk “Flow, the secret to happiness,” where he outlines seven key characteristics:
1. To be completely immersed in what we are doing and feel extremely focused and concentrated on the task at hand.
2. A sense of ecstasy, a Greek word meaning to be outside of oneself or outside of our everyday reality.
3. Great clarity of mind where you know what needs to be done and how well we are doing.
4. Confidence that our skills are adequate to meet the challenge of the task. There is a crucial balance between having a high enough level of skill to match the challenge of the task. Csikszentmihalyi portrays this in this diagram:
5. Serenity as our worries about oneself melts away as we lose a sense of self and grow beyond the boundaries of the ego.
6. Timelessness as we become so focused on the present moment hours seem to pass by in minutes.
7. Intrinsic Motivation for whatever action produces flow becomes its own reward.
Cannabis and Flow State
Around the same time Csikszentmihalyi was discovering the state of flow in Croatia, a chemist in Israel, Raphael Mechoulam was discovering THC. Mechoulam isolated the psychoactive compound in cannabis in 1964, but this was only half of the equation. For a chemical to have an effect on our system, it needs a receptor site. This led to the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, the biological system that cannabis acts on.
So, what does this have to do with flow? Well, let’s start with runner’s high, which is probably the most understood flow state. I’m sure you’ve heard that exercise promotes endorphins. The thinking used to be that endorphins caused runner’s high or an adrenaline rush. However, the current thinking is that endorphins are not able to break the barrier between the blood and brain. So, what causes it then?
Anandamide
Anandamide is released in exercise-induced flow states. Anandamide elevates mood, relieves pain, dilates blood vessels, and aids in respiration. It has also been proven to amplify creative and intuitive thinking and increase the ability to link contrasting ideas together.
Ironically, Anandamide is how we naturally influence the endocannabinoid system. It is the way our body activates the same system that cannabis does.
Thanks to modern neuroscience, we now understand a distinct pattern in the brain about how a flow state is induced. Flow states are stimulated by interactions between five different neurotransmitters within our brain. The neurotransmitters are:
- Dopamine – When you first enter into flow, dopamine floods your brain. It increases attention, information flow, and pattern recognition. It is essentially a skill booster.
- Norepinephrine – This speeds up heart rate, muscle tension, and respiration. It triggers a glucose response, so we have more energy, increasing arousal, attention, neural efficiency, and emotional control, thus producing a high.
- Endorphins – Rooting from the word “endogenous,” meaning naturally internal to the body, endorphins relieve pain and induce pleasure. They function similarly to opioids. However, the feeling attained from endorphins is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine.
- Anandamide – Stemming from the Sanskrit word for “bliss,” anandamide is an endogenous cannabinoid and feels similar to the psychoactive effect found in cannabis.
- Serotonin – At the end of a flow state, serotonin fills the brain producing an “after-glow” effect. This leaves you with a post-exercise feeling of bliss and is only felt once the flow state has already come and gone.
This combination of neurochemicals is what allows the mind to slow down and enter a trance-like mode. Clearing all distractions along with being in a comfortable environment are incredibly important too. It can be difficult at times to implement flow triggers, behaviors, and thought patterns. This is where cannabis comes into play.
For some, including myself, cannabis is a helpful aid in reaching the flow state. It not only reacts with the neurochemicals listed above, but cannabis itself can also quiet down the prefrontal cortex, which will shut down loud distracting thoughts and help us focus on the primary tasks at hand. Along with that, cannabis releases dopamine, which helps connect the ideas in our brain.
Best Cannabis for Flow State
A cannabis product containing uplifting terpenes (Pinene, Limonene, or Terpinolene) are better options when trying to achieve the flow state. Terpenes are the compounds that best determine the experience (sativa vs. indica effects) related to the specific cannabis product. Pinene, limonene, and terpinolene are three terpenes that are generally associated with a more stimulating and uplifting experience. Also, paring cannabis with exercise and caffeine has shown to have performing enhancement effects allowing the mind to ease into the flow state. If you struggle with reaching the flow state, this flow combo might just be perfect for you to try!
While there are no significant studies done yet on the effects cannabis can have to help us reach a flow state, there have been quite a few studies revealing how cannabis affects the production of the same neurochemicals released during a flow state. Which leads me to believe that by getting cannabinoids into our system we may assist the process of entering our flow state. I also hear on a daily basis the personal stories of people who share that they feel more focused and clear-minded when taking cannabis plant medicine. With more research being conducted on both the flow state and cannabis over the years, it is only a matter of time before more concrete evidence may show how the two are connected. Until then here are some general tips on how you can possibly reach a flow state:
- Do an activity where you can have a balance between your skills and the challenge. Consistent practice can help you grow your skills and setting realistic goals is important to create enough of a challenge.
- Remove distractions to help you focus. Put your phone away and if possible, find a quiet place to be alone if the activity allows it.
- Meditation. Through meditation, you may connect to your full creative power. This gives you the ability to shift into an altered state at will.
- Enjoy the activity for its own sake rather than external motivations. With flow it is more about the journey than the destination.
- Set aside the time to focus and be productive. If you can attain a flow state, then hours may seem to go by in minutes. The more time you provide yourself then the more time you have to not only enter into a flow state, but to enjoy it as well.
- Basics! Drink water, get good sleep, avoid alcohol and eat colorful food. It can be a challenge to reach our optimal state of being if we are feeling the brain fog of being tired, hungry, or dehydrated.
- Try using cannabis (CBD alone can work too) whether it is a tincture, edible, or vaping product.
Cannabis can impact the flow state by the way in which it encourages anandamide to be present in the mind. I can certainly attest to feeling more in tune with my body, my form, and my flow when I use cannabis during my sports activities. By incorporating cannabis into one’s life, he or she may be able to experience more states of flow and increase his or her daily happiness.
