Whatever your poison happens to be, it seems like playing Tetris can totally help you avoid partaking in it.
A study at Plymouth University asked participants to discuss their cravings, and rate those cravings on a numerical scale. A test group then played Tetris, whilst another control group did not. The study found that playing Tetris caused participants in the study to reduce their cravings by 24%.
Playing a game of Tetris significantly reduced cravings compared to what the study called a ‘wait condition’, where no games of Tetris were played at all.
It would be reasonable to assume that it isn’t necessarily Tetris itself that helped reduce the cravings, but the act of playing a game like Tetris, which means that playing certain types of video games could, in fact, help you to manage your cravings, whatever those cravings happen to be.
24%, of course, isn’t a complete elimination of the craving, but as someone who was completely and utterly addicted to caffienated soft drinks, ever little bit helps. If you’re trying to eliminate some sort of bad habit from your life, you might as well play some video games!
Playing ‘Tetris’ reduces the strength, frequency and vividness of naturally occurring cravings [Science Direct]
Via The Atlantic
Comments
8 responses to “Playing Tetris Can Help You Stop Drinking, Smoking And Eating”
Try and reduce addictive behaviour with addictive behaviour?
it’s just the distraction.
when quitting smoking for example, a craving lasts about 3 minutes.
but the withdrawal messes with your perception of time & it feels like an hour.
So if Im feeling a craving, I play a level or two of angry birds or some shit & it’s gone.
But what if my addiction is video games?
Perhaps drinking, smoking or eating can distract you from it?
@lapetus2000 take up heroin.
reply fail.
I’m addicted to Tetris…
Yeah, it is like taking up crack cocaine to give up heroin.
Hit the nail on the head there. A momentary distraction males the world of difference when it comes to cigarettes (for me, anyway. That, and nicotine patches, and being grumpy.)