In flow we're not using more of the brain we're actually using less of the brain The technical term for this is transient meaning temporary Hypo-frontality Hypo is H-Y-P-O It's the opposite of hyper It means to slow down to shut down to deactivate And frontality is the prefrontal cortex right The part of your brain that's right back here Now this is an extremely powerful part of your brain It handles complex logical decision-making It handles long-term planning Your sense of morality comes from here your sense of willpower In flow this portion of the brain shuts down It's actually an efficiency exchange The brain is trading energy it needs for attention and it's shutting down non-critical structures When it shuts down the prefrontal cortex all kinds of crazy things happen Why does time pass so strangely in a flow state for example Time it turns out is calculated all over the prefrontal cortex and as parts of it wink out it can no longer separate past from present and future We're plunged into a state researchers talk about as the deep now
