Physiological assessment of the psychological flow state using wearable devices.
Scientific Reports April 7, 2025 Melinda Rácz, Melinda Becske, Tímea Magyaródi et al.
Flow, the state of optimal experience linked to outstanding performance, can be detected and monitored with wearable devices. In an experiment with 28 Hungarian adults playing a game at varying difficulty to induce flow and anti-flow states, electroencephalography, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, galvanic skin response, and head and hand motion were measured. During flow, alpha and theta brainwave power dominated, supporting the transient hypofrontality hypothesis. Heart rate variability showed a U-shaped characteristic, while blood oxygen saturation and its variability displayed inverse U-shaped and U-shaped patterns, respectively. Subjects were least physically active in flow and most active in boredom, indicating that lightweight wearables can monitor mental state for improving well-being.