A study featured in Addictive Behaviors Journal has proven that playing Tetris can reduce cravings for food, drugs, and miscellaneous activities from 70 percent to 56 percent.
A group of psychologists from the University of Plymouth in United Kingdom and Queensland University of Technology in Australia, were looking for helpful techniques to help alleviate cravings for foods, drugs and activities. They consequently discovered that keeping your brain busy in games such as Tetris can help lessen your imagination in consuming addictive substances and activities.
"The Tetris effect happens because craving involves imagining the experience of consuming a particular substance or indulging in a particular activity. Playing a visually interesting game like Tetris occupies the mental processes that support that imagery; it is hard to imagine something vividly and play Tetris at the same time," said Professor Jackie Andrade of the School of Psychology and the Cognition Institute at Plymouth University, in a press release.
During the span of the seven-day experiment, the researchers asked the 31 undergraduates who participated in the experiment to inform them of their cravings by text message. The cravings of the students were recorded and tallied.
The study found out that 21 percent of cravings were for substances categorized as drugs, such as coffee, cigarettes, wine and beer. Another 16 percent were for miscellaneous activities such as sleeping, playing videogames, meeting up with friends, and sexual intercourse. Food cravings were likely to be weaker than those in the other categories.
15 out of the 31 subjects were told to play the game Tetris for at least 3 minutes before reporting their cravings. The researchers then found out that those who played Tetris had a lesser craving than those who did not play.
The researchers suggest the Tetris method to those who are more dependent on substances, such as addicts, to know if the block shifting game can really be an excellent tool to alleviate cravings.
