If you’ve ever been so focused on a task – whether it be an important project for work, creating an artistic masterpiece, or even achieving a new personal best in your chosen sport – you have probably experienced what is known as the “flow state”. Many people might refer to this feeling as being “in the zone” or even “in another world”; a world where time seems to slow down and thoughts and actions that may usually distract us seem to disappear. But while these periods of complete focus may seem elusive, we may be able to conjure them more easily than we think.
What is flow state?
The theory behind the flow state was first popularised by positive psychologists (the term used for the scientific study of contributors to a healthy and happy life, no less), Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeanne Nakamura. When one finds oneself in a state of flow, they may feel that they can keep doing whatever they are doing forever. But the flow state is not simply about achieving a task; as Csikszentmihalyi explained in a 2004 TED Talk, when you are in flow state, “there’s this focus that, once it becomes intense, leads to a sense of ecstasy, a sense of clarity; you know exactly what you want to do from one moment to the other; you get immediate feedback.”
Sounds pretty cool, right?
But how does one achieve flow state? According to Csikszentmihalyi, it comes from dedicating all one’s attention to a single endeavour. As humans, we are capable of processing a certain amount of information – about 110 pieces of information per second – a span which is usually divided on several different things; it may be someone speaking to you, thinking about what you’re going to have for lunch, and carrying out a task at hand. However, in flow state, all this attention that is usually divided is focused on a single thing.
For composers, this may be creating new music; for artists, creating an artwork; and for writers… well, I think you get the point.
In this state of complete concentration, everything else seems to disappear. You may not notice time slipping by, discomfort in your body, or even that you are tired and hungry. Essentially, when we are stretching ourselves to our limits through engagement with a particular task or activity, we may not only be able to achieve said task more effectively, but we may also achieve a sense of ecstasy and fulfilment.
Could cannabis help to conjure the flow state?
Now, you may be wondering what cannabis could have to do with flow state. After all, cannabis is a drug that has long been associated with the opposite of motivation and productivity (of course, there are now various studies and theories that pretty much debunk this theory). But cannabis has also been a common favourite among creatives, from music legends to artists and even athletes. This begs the question: Could cannabis actually help to trigger flow state?
Cannabis, when used recreationally, is generally considered (at least among non-users) a drug for relaxing and unwinding; a less polite way to put it would be to hark back to the ‘lazy stoner’ stereotype. This would seem to be the opposite of the conditions needed to effectively conjure the flow state. However, as many consumers will attest, cannabis is used in many different ways.
Sure, sometimes cannabis is great for simply kicking back on your own for a lazy evening on the sofa. Yet, many consumers also report using cannabis before performing demanding tasks, from creative endeavours to (more surprisingly) hitting the gym.
Cannabis, flow and creativity
Over the decades, many famous creative minds have credited at least part of their success to psychoactive drug use. In fact, cannabis use (and the use of psychedelics) has been routinely linked to enhanced creativity; a 2002 study even found that smoking cannabis increases blood flow to the brain’s frontal lobe – a region highly involved in cognitive thinking and creativity; however, recent research suggests that this may not be due to cannabis enhancing creativity per se, but instead relieving feelings of anxiety that may be holding back creative expression.
But whatever the mechanisms behind this phenomenon, there’s no doubt that cannabis has been an accomplice in the creation of some of the world’s most recognisable artistic expressions.
But it’s not just musicians and artists who claim cannabis helps to get them “in the zone” to complete their best work. In 1971, an American psychologist called Lester Grinspoon published Marihuana Reconsidered, a book detailing the effects of cannabis and the drug’s place in society. In it, Grinspoon included eponymous accounts from Dr Carl Sagan, an astronomer and science writer detailing how cannabis had impacted his work: “One idea led to another and at the end of about an hour of extremely hard work I found I had written eleven short essays on a wide range of social, political, philosophical, and human biological topics.”
Sound familiar?
Cannabis, flow and exercise
According to a 2019 survey of more than 600 cannabis users, 81.7% of respondents recommended using cannabis concurrently with exercise. Moreover, many of the respondents who responded positively to this question also indicated that using cannabis pre-exercise makes their workout more enjoyable. Could this be down to flow state?
“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times . . . The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”
– Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Any avid runners out there may have been struck by the similarities between the definition of the flow state and the “runner’s high” they experience while pushing their physical and mental barriers on a trying run. And this may not be a coincidence. The runner’s high – much like the flow state – is described as the feeling of euphoria during a significant bout of exercise. What makes this connection more interesting, though, are the compounds that have been linked to the runner’s high: endocannabinoids.
Current evidence suggests that acute exercise may be linked to a release of endocannabinoids. These compounds interact with the endocannabinoid system in the body and pose a striking resemblance to the key cannabinoids found in cannabis. So, if cannabinoids help us to achieve the high associated with exercise, maybe it could also help get us in a groove in our other endeavours.
Unfortunately, despite nearly half a century of flow research, neurobiological investigations into the state are still in their infancy. Nonetheless, there is growing recognition of the potential link between endocannabinoids such as anandamide and the flow state. So, while there may be know for sure, there is no shortage of people who believe that cannabis has not only helped them to improve their creativity and focus on a whole range of tasks, but also made them more enjoyable and fulfilling – that sounds a hell of a lot like flow to us.
