Decoding Flow: Neuroscience, Biosignals, and the Ronaldo Effect- Issue 16 〰️
"The living body is an electrical machine, and its currents are signs of life itself." – Luigi Galvani
Life is messy. It leaves traces everywhere, organic metabolites, heat, and most intriguingly, electricity. These signals don’t just confirm the presence of life; they reveal what that life is doing. In this newsletter and a few following ones, we look at how we can catch and interpret some of these signals.
Amongst these signals, electricity, or bioelectricity as it was called in the 1780s when it was discovered is particularly insightful. Every action of your body, every breath and heartbeat, every eyeblink, and even your thoughts generate weak but distinct electric signals. As your eyes glaze over this line, if we were to put sensors on your forehead we would be able to tell where you are looking. Do you find this article interesting or are you bored already? That too can be interpreted using sensors on your head. All this, completely non-invasively from the signals your body is emitting.
Detecting body moments and eyeblinks is one thing but thoughts and mental states too? In this newsletter, we dive into something that has often been considered slightly mythical and outside the bounds of science. It’s known as the flow state.
Cristiano Ronaldo - The Jedi Master?
“Do or do not. There is no try” - Yoda
Flow state became a topic of heated discussion during Euro 2024 when data suggested that Cristiano Ronaldo could enter it at will.
During the penalty shootout, when most players' heart rates spike under pressure, Ronaldo’s heart rate dropped from 170 bpm to just above 100 bpm, a hallmark of flow. He had already missed a penalty earlier, yet in the game’s most crucial moment, he showed no signs of anxiety.
This is compelling, but not conclusive. To be sure, we would need his brain activity data. So, what does neuroscience say about flow?
What is a flow state?
"Lose yourself in the moment, you own it, you better never let it go." – Eminem
Flow is a mental state where distractions fade, time distorts, and performance reaches extraordinary levels.
Issac Newton used to go into a focused state while solving problems from which he wouldn’t emerge for days, forgetting to eat or bathe during this time. Albert Einstein would play violin when he encountered particularly difficult problems. In that state of focus, he could visualize complex problems and their solutions. Benjamin Franklin would keep his mind on a problem, hold a penny, and go into a state of focused sleep (hypnagogic sleep). The sound of the penny drop would wake him up and he would have found the solution by then.
Flow feels effortless. Tasks unfold smoothly, and time seems to disappear.
Today, neurotechnology allows us to detect and quantify mental states like flow. With miniaturized electronics, AI, and neuroscience advancements, we are closer than ever to understanding the brain's optimal performance state.
Characteristics of flow state
"The best moments in our lives are not passive, receptive, relaxing times... The best moments occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile." – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
A flow state is a subjective experience in which a person is so absorbed in a task that it seems to happen smoothly and automatically. There is no fear or performance pressure in the state of flow. Usually, the individual loses perception of time and their attention levels are high. The task performance is often much above average and there is a sense of satisfaction when the person comes out of flow. (Csikszentmihalyi 1975; Csikszentmihalyi et al., 2020; Ottiger et al., 2021; Swann et al., 2012). So, an individual in the flow state would have the following:
Effortless progress
Absence of fear or anxiety
Distorted perception of time
A mix of consciously doing the task and the task happening automatically
Autotelic property or a rewarding feeling
Reduced awareness of self and surrounding
What is needed to enter the flow state?
"Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things."— Ray Bradbury
Generally speaking, if the individual is either too anxious about the situation or tries excruciatingly to control their own actions, flow will remain illusive. There has to be a balance of not being anxious while also caring enough about to do the task well; between conscious execution while not trying to focus too hard to do it.
A novice dancer, focusing on every step, may struggle to enter flow. Meanwhile, an expert, executing movements without overthinking, is more likely to experience it.
From multiple studies researchers have determined a few conditions that are almost always necessary for people to enter a flow state. (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014)
Clear goals - the task, its outcome and constraints (time, resource etc) need to be predetermined.
High concentration - A non-distracting environment is crucial for entering flow. Once in flow state, it becomes easier to ignore distractions.
Balance between difficulty and competence - If a task is too easy, people get bored or if it’s too tough then people lose interest. The task should be just challenging enough to keep the individual interested.
Immediate feedback about performance - The individual must be able to assess how well the task is going in a short period of time. The progress has to be measurable like finishing a few reports, debugging a code, directed reading etc.
The presence of these conditions increases the chances of entering flow but doesn’t guarantee it.
Which parts of the brain influence flow state?
"The brain is wider than the sky." – Emily Dickinson
Researchers have often used the factors mentioned above as a hint towards which part of the brain to look at in order to study the flow state. Since we have some understanding of the cognitive states that people experience in flow, it makes sense to look at brain regions that are associated with these processes.
Fear and threat response
The outermost part of the brain is called the cortex. Deeper into the brain, underneath the cortex are the limbic areas which control emotions. The amygdala in particular is responsible for controlling fear responses such as fight-or-flight, encoding fear memories and inducing thoughts about possible negative future consequences. Ulrich et al., 2014 found lowered activation in the amygdala during flow state.
The power of high beta waves (20-30 Hz) signifies a stressed mental state. EEG studies during and shortly after subjects were in flow state (Yun et al., 2017; Wollseiffen et al., 2016).
This is supported by psychophysiological studies which show lower activation of the stress response system during flow. Further, this is in line with what we know from experiential reports of flow state. Individuals do not feel fear or anxiety in a state of flow. If anything, these strong negative emotions can hamper a person’s chances of entering the flow state.
Perhaps this is why Cristiano takes the iconic deep breaths before shooting a penalty kick, to suppress the fear response. Atleast according to the heart rate data this seems to be very effective.
Attentional Networks
A hallmark of flow state is laser-like attention. Individuals become hyper focused on the task to the point of having a reduced sense of their surroundings and themselves. Attentional areas, particularly the orienting network and the alerting network have been implicated.
The orienting network is responsible for target selection towards which attention is directed and includes the superior parietal cortices, the temporal-parietal junction and the frontal eye fields (Posner & Rothbart, 2007).
The alerting network increases and maintains attention levels and include locus coeruleus and right frontal and parietal cortices (Posner & Rothbart, 2007)
EEG studies (Katahira et al., 2018; Knierim et al., 2018) show that during flow state there is an increase in theta (4-8 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz) activity in the frontal part of the brain. Alpha activity is a sign of relaxed calmness while theta waves are associated with creative problem solving and quiet wakefulness. When people have a fresh mind, early in the morning after waking up theta activity tends to be high.
Motivation
Regions of the brain that control motivation are responsible for giving us a “mental reward" when we achieve something. Since flow state experiences tend to be autotelic (feels good in and of itself) and sometimes almost addictive, it makes sense to look at these areas.
Flow state has been linked to D2 dopamine receptors (D2R) in the striatum, with higher D2R availability correlating with more frequent flow experiences (de Manzano et al., 2013). Dopamine not only drives reward processing but also serves as a precursor to norepinephrine (NE), a key regulator of attention via the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system (Aston-Jones & Cohen, 2005). This system determines whether the brain sustains or disengages from a task based on reward feedback.
The dopaminergic reward system and LC-NE system work together to initiate, maintain, and disrupt flow states. Dopamine signals task motivation, while the LC-NE system modulates sustained engagement. This interplay may explain why individuals with greater striatal dopaminergic activity are more prone to flow, as their brains are better tuned for sustained cognitive performance. (Benarroch, 2009; Ranjbar-Slamloo & Fazlali, 2020)
Can we train ourselves to enter flow?
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." – Will Durant
Since now we can quantify the behavioural effects of the flow state and detect brain activity which go along with it we should be able to train ourselves to enter flow state. Even after controlling for all factors it is never guaranteed that we may achieve this state but we can certainly increase the chances.
Expertise - As we saw earlier, if we are not adept at a task then there is no hope of achieving flow state. Whatever the activity we need a certain level of competence which we must develop.
Reduce distractions - It takes time to get into the zone and disruptions are a total killer. Being absolutely dialed in is essential.
Neurofeedback - One secret hack that Cristiano uses is to use neurofeedback to get into a mental state where he is likely to enter flow. Neurofeedback devices can tell you whether you are in the right mental zone (high theta and alpha, low frontal beta). Through practice it becomes easier to enter the zone during the actual scenario.
Brain Stimulation - Since we have some ideas about which parts of the brain are either more or less active, non-invasive brain stimulation can be used to induce these effects. Gold and Ciorciari (2019) used transcranial direct current stimulation to decrease and increase the activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right parietal cortex respectively. This increased the likelihood of participants entering flow state as they played video games.
Final Thought: Mastering Flow – The Future of Human Performance
"Flow is the secret to happiness." – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Flow is more than just peak performance—it is the key to deep satisfaction, creativity, and effortless productivity. Whether in sports, science, music, or even everyday tasks, the ability to enter flow can elevate human potential beyond what we currently believe possible.
For centuries, individuals have stumbled into flow by chance, relying on practice, intuition, or environmental conditions to trigger this state. But now, with advances in neurotechnology, real-time brain monitoring, and AI-powered feedback systems, we are moving toward a future where flow can be trained, optimized, and even induced on demand.
Imagine a world where students, professionals, and athletes could deliberately enter flow at will, accessing their highest levels of cognitive and physical performance whenever needed. From cutting-edge brain stimulation techniques to wearable neurofeedback devices, the next frontier of human optimization lies in harnessing this elusive state.
Flow is not just a fleeting experience, it is a trainable skill, a mental discipline, and perhaps the next great leap in human capability. The question is no longer if we can control flow, but how soon we will master it.
🔦Contributor Spotlight🔦
We are excited to feature Soumya Bhattacharjee, a Neuroscience PhD from NCBS, TIFR, and an M.E. from BITS Pilani. With expertise in behavioral neuroscience, AI-driven brain research, and data analysis, Soumya has been at the forefront of integrating neuroscience with artificial intelligence.
His work focuses on advancing brain data interpretation, driving research-led innovation, and expanding the frontiers of human-computer interaction. Transitioning from academia to entrepreneurship, he has led pilot projects, forged strategic partnerships, and contributed to cutting-edge neurotech applications shaping the future of the field.
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