Beloved, classic block sorting game Tetris has been linked to a momentary reduction in cravings by Psychology researchers in Australia.
According to a recent report, Tetris – a block sorting video game that’s been popular for over thirty years – can help individuals control their cravings for things like drugs and alcohol. In that report, it was revealed that “playing Tetris for as little as three minutes had an impact on a variety of cravings for food, meeting friends, wine, non-alcoholic drinks, sex and sleep.”
In order to conduct this unorthodox study, Psychology researchers at Plymouth University and Queensland University of Technology, Australia studied the effects of Tetris on the brains of 31 adults between 18 and 27. Asked to monitor and report cravings for seven days in a row, only fifteen were asked to play the game on their tablets or smart phones. Of those fifteen, “the team found between 56 to 70 percent decline in cravings after playing Tetris.”
“Playing Tetris decreased craving strength for drugs, food, and activities from 70% to 56%. This is the first demonstration that cognitive interference can be used outside the lab to reduce cravings for substances and activities other than eating,” said lead study author Professor Jackie Andrade, from the School of Psychology and the Cognition Institute at Plymouth University.
The researchers were even able to break down which cravings were most prominent among the study subjects: 30 percent of the cravings were attributed to food and non-alcoholic drinks, while 21 percent went to potentially addictive chemicals like nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, and other drugs. Just 16 percent of the cravings came from “sex, sleep, and socializing with friends.”
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