Exclusive: Novel Study Investigates the Link Between Psychological Flow States and Better Sex
What happens when you have sex in a flow state?
Flow states are all the rage right now.
Dip your toes into self-help content anywhere online, and it’s guaranteed you’ll bump into the concept within minutes (along with a barrage of overpromises and exaggerated claims). To cut through the noise, I’ll simplify it and define a flow state as a proposed state of optimal consciousness and focus. It’s a state where your brain absorbs information and responds to it effortlessly.
Ever watch a musician or a painter absorbed in their crafts? They’re immersed. The whole world beyond what they’re doing disappears. It’s like their bodies speak the language of motion and have a conversation with their environments.
Their effort becomes effortless.
Their motions are second nature.
This is a flow state. And we’re all capable of achieving such states when the scene is right and when we’ve dedicated enough mental energy and physical practice to whatever our craft may be.
A flow state is the opposite of apathy and close to the opposite of boredom. We need to feel challenged, and we need to have the abilities to meet those challenges.
Here’s a handy chart by Jari Roomer from his excellent overview of flow states on Medium.
Plenty of ink has been spilled discussing how such states can affect our professional lives. But what happens when we apply flow states to our sex lives? Is it possible to conjure up sex sessions with a heightened state of focus and intensity?
Sex & Flow
A recent study published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy explored these questions. It was a simple design that asked participants questions on several surveys.
They asked people how sexually satisfied they were and gave them a questionnaire that determined when they were in flow states. It turns out that experiencing more flow states is a significant predictor of both personal sexual satisfaction and partner-focused sexual satisfaction.