Is Flow the Holy Grail of Health?

Only 28% of Americans meet recommended cardiovascular and strength-training activity levels. Human tendencies toward conserving energy are linked to evolution, when calories were uncertain and hunting and gathering required sustained effort followed by rest. Modern environments provide easy calories and many distractions that encourage sitting. The question becomes whether people are stuck with sedentary outcomes. Flow theory offers a potential alternative by explaining how people can become deeply committed to activities without external rewards. Flow involves complete immersion, focused attention, a sense of control, and pleasure that comes from the activity itself, making effort feel effortless and rewarding.

"At last count, only 28 percent of Americans are getting the recommended 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise and two sessions of strength training per week. Some anthropologists point out that it is not our fault. We evolved successfully because humans learned early on that conserving calories was important. That's because they never knew when the next bout of calories was going to come along. And, hunting and gathering was hard work. Once the work stopped, it was time to conserve energy. Learning to do that was key to survival."

"Now, of course, we have different problems. We have lots of enticing distractions that keep us sitting down and easy access to calories of all sorts. Our evolutionary tendency may be kicking in to help us enjoy a life of ease, and our environment conspires to help us with that. What can help to get us moving? Are we doomed to play out this calorie-conserving scenario to our detriment?"

"Flow theory was developed Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 1970s. He wanted to understand why people could become committed to an activity that seemingly provided no external reward. He found that states of flow involve complete immersion in and focus on an activity that feels effortless. It brings satisfaction, pleasure, and even happiness combined with a sense of control over the activity. Time is suspended along with self-consciousness by the total absorption. The effort itself produces the reward."

Read at Psychology Today