Optimal Being

  Fresh insights into accessing optimal psychological states. KEY POINTS During a flow state, individuals become deeply engrossed in an activity, losing their sense of time and self, which results in peak performance. Flow is influenced by nine precursors that encompass psychological, environmental, and social elements. Fully immersive experiences create lasting memories and contribute to identity development. Flow and mindfulness are incompatible. Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, inventor of Flow Theory, would have been 89 on September 29, 2023. Now, you have undoubtedly tasted the sweet nectar of flow. It's that magical sensation when, 37 seconds into sharing an anecdote with friends, swinging a pickleball paddle, savoring a delectable meal, or simply observing a beaver's leisurely stroll through the grass, you become one with the moment. Time? It gracefully decelerates. Your ego and selfhood? They vanish, leaving only action and awareness in harmonious convergence. The outcome? A s...

If children take a daily supplement containing extra vitamins and minerals, their brains work in a more focused way. In psychological tests the children make fewer mistakes, researchers at Northumbria University concluded from an experiment involving eighty children between eight and fourteen. Study The researchers gave their test subjects two Pharmaton Kiddi chew tablets daily for twelve weeks. The children took their tablets in the morning with their breakfast. The table below shows what the tablets contain. Soon after the children started taking the vitamins the researchers got them to do computer tests. The last test took place on the final day of the experiment, but the children were also tested a few times during the course of the experiment. Results The most consistent – in fact the only consistent – effect that the researchers discovered was for a test in which an arrow pointing left or right appeared on the computer screen. If it pointed to the left, the children had to click ...