“There is nothing so practical as a good theory.” – Kurt Lewin (1890-1947)
A New Explanation for Exercising “In the Zone”
Back in the 1970s, the discovery of endorphins—endogenous opioids secreted in the brain to dull pain and lift mood—were used to explain the phenomenon of the “runner’s high” or “being in the zone;” a temporary euphoric state that spontaneously occurred during or shortly after intense exercise (Everett, 2016). Then, later in the 1980s, the concept of “flow” was put forward by Mihály (mee-hi-ee) Csíkszentmihályi (chick-sent-mee-hi-yee) (1934-2021) which is a state of intense focus on an object or activity. I look at flow as just another name for trance state which has been known for ages in both hypnosis and Eastern meditation.
But now there’s a new kid in town to explain what happens in the brain during intense exercise. This is the neurological theory called reticular-activating hypofrontality (RAH) or transient hypofrontality (Dietrich, 2006; Dietrich & Audiffren, 2011; Jung et al., 2022).
Exercise is thought to induce neurological changes in cerebral structures. It does so by inducing angiogenesis; the creation of new blood vessels. Next, it spurs neurogenesis or the formation of new neural networks. Physical activity affects neurological functioning further by increasing the neurotropic factor produced by the brain—specifically within the hippocampus—as well as stimulating neurotransmitter activity and global neuroplasticity. Exercise reduces the formation of Amyloid-b plaques in the brain thus slowing the onset of dementia. So, there’s definitely a very strong connection between physical activity and cognitive function (Frith & Loprinzi, 2018).
Sustained exercise over a period of time can change normal consciousness into an altered state of consciousness. This state has been called many names: trance, reverie, “the zone,” and flow. Flow as is the experience in which a person feels totally and effortless engaged in some activity so much so as to lose contact with the passing of the time or things happening around him or her. It is marked by feelings of extreme focus and control and yet a loss of self-awareness (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Athletes in flow often report reaching the height of their abilities and performance levels unrivalled in the rest of their lives (Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). Unfortunately, mechanisms underneath the flow state are not completely understood (Harris, Vine, & Wilson, 2017).
Starting with the basic fact that neural processing is competitive for metabolic resources and that those resources are limited, the transient hypofrontality hypothesis says that exercise activates neural paths for sensory-motor control which is the immediate need while decreasing prefrontal activity which is not needed. Reduced frontal functioning is a valid explanation for how exercise affects awareness, thinking, and emotions; afterall, you don’t need executive analytic decision-making or deep intellectual analysis while jogging five miles (Dietrich, 2003, 2006). So, basically, transient hypofrontality refers to the moments of total absorption when we get so focused on the task at hand that everything else disappears; everything else shuts down to allow the brain to focus on the now and that my friend, is the royal road to the flow state.
While the findings are still pretty superficial and much more work is needed, it is a promising start. One meta-analysis of exercise and cognitive functioning found evidence to support that high-intensity exercise does affect the prefrontal cortex as predicted by the transient hypofrontality theory (Jung et al., 2022).
Closing Thoughts
I have never been “in the zone,” but I’ve meditated enough and engaged in self-induced, hypnotic trance states to have been in places where minutes seemed like an hour and lived through what I experienced as being an hour but was only a few minutes; this is the experience of time dilation. Given my background, I tend to approach this material from the perspective of trance. But regardless, the transient hypofrontality theory, has a number of virtues. First, it is simple in concept which is always a plus. Next, it is testable and offers new avenues for further experimentation. Finally, it may eventually show that mental focus, physical exertion, and brain responses are a holistic event with mutual interactions and pathways. It’s a pretty good theory overall and we can expect to see more results from its application in the next decade.
Paul Shane, Ph.D., LMT
Director, Academic Content
References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
Dietrich, A. (2003). Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis. Consciousness & Cognition 12(2), p. 231-256.
—– (2006). Transient hypofrontality as a mechanism for the psychological effects of exercise. Psychiatry Research 145(1), p. 79-86.
Dietrich, A. & Audiffren, M. (2011). The reticular-activating hypofrontality (RAH) model of acute exercise. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 35, p. 1305-1325.
Frith, E. & Loprinzi, P. (2018). Physical activity is associated with higher cognitive function among adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Complementary Therapies in Medicine 36, p. 46-49.
Harris, D., Vine, S., & Wilson, M. (2017). Neurocognitive mechanisms of the flow state. Progress in Brain Research 234, p. 221-243.
Jackson, S. & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). Flow in Sports: The Keys to Optimal Experiences and Performances. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Jung, M., Ryu, S., Kang, M., Javadi, A., & Loprinzi, P. (2022). Evaluation of the transient hypofrontality theory in the context of exercise: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 75(7), p. 1193-1214.