Can hypnosis help athletes enter a flow state, improve concentration and feel more in control during competition?
An August 2026 study examining hypnotherapy and flow in amateur boxers offers some encouraging early findings.
The research involved 24 male amateur boxers who participated in a 21-day hypnotherapy programme incorporating relaxation, mental imagery and post-hypnotic anchoring.
Researchers investigated whether these techniques could influence different aspects of flow — the psychological state where athletes become deeply absorbed in their performance, with focused attention and a sense that actions are happening naturally.
Following the programme, the researchers reported improvements in several dimensions of flow, including:
Improved concentration: A moderate standardised effect size (Cohen's d = 0.65), suggesting greater focus during performance.
Clearer feedback: An effect size of 0.60, relating to athletes' perceptions of how clearly they could evaluate their actions.
Greater action–awareness merging: An effect size of 0.54, reflecting the experience of actions feeling more automatic and less consciously controlled.
Increased sense of control: An effect size of 0.46, suggesting more favourable perceptions of control during sporting activity.
Importantly, the study involved a small sample and did not include a control group. This means the findings cannot establish that hypnosis caused the improvements, and the research did not demonstrate improvements in actual boxing performance.
Here is the link to the study:
Why This Matters to RKPP
At Russell Knox Peak Performance, one of the key areas I focus on is helping athletes develop the ability to perform with confidence, concentration and reduced mental interference.
Athletes often describe their best performances as moments when everything seems to flow naturally. They are fully engaged in the task, reacting instinctively and trusting the skills they have developed through training.
However, under pressure, that state can become disrupted by overthinking, self-doubt or excessive focus on the outcome.
What interests me about this research is the combination of hypnosis, mental imagery and anchoring. Techniques that also form part of my approach to mental performance.
Through the RKPP PEAK Method, I work with athletes to identify their optimal performance state, recognise the mental barriers that interfere with it and develop techniques to help them access more useful mental responses.
This includes using hypnosis and visualisation to mentally rehearse performance, reinforcing positive cues and anchors, and practising reset techniques that help redirect attention when pressure increases.
The study is particularly relevant to the Amplify and Keep stages of the PEAK Method, where the focus is on strengthening and reinforcing helpful mental patterns through repetition and practice.
While this research does not prove that hypnosis creates flow, it provides an interesting starting point for understanding how structured mental training might support some of the psychological characteristics associated with flow.
My Takeaway
Flow isn't about trying harder or thinking more. It's about being fully engaged in the moment and allowing well-practised skills to emerge.
For me, this is one of the most interesting areas of mental performance.
Athletes spend countless hours developing physical skills, yet competition pressure can sometimes cause them to consciously interfere with movements that normally happen naturally.
At RKPP, my focus is on helping athletes recognise what their best performance state feels like and develop practical techniques to support that state more consistently.
Hypnosis, mental rehearsal and performance anchors are tools I use as part of that process.
Although further research is needed, this study offers encouraging preliminary findings on the relationship between hypnotherapy and several dimensions of flow.
The goal isn't to force a flow state. It's to develop the mental conditions that make focused, confident and instinctive performance more accessible.
Train the body. Prepare the mind. Trust the performance.
