Craving something, try Tetris: Research

This past week Tech Spot highlighted the findings of a team of researchers from Plymouth University’s Cognition Institute who discovered that even just 3 minutes of playing Tetris can be an effective way of resisting cravings. The weeklong study monitored participants for the intensity of their cravings and asked them to play Tetris at random intervals throughout the day.

Playing Tetris for just three minutes can reduce cravings for drugs, food, cigarettes, alcohol and sex, scientists have found.

The study was conducted by psychologists from Plymouth University and Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

In order to reach the findings the researchers observed 31 undergraduate students between the age of 18 to 27. In addition the participants were free to self-report each time they had any craving. Study participants were promted seven times a day via text messages to report on any food cravings they had, as well as encouraged to report cravings proactively, independent of prompts. The result: “Playing Tetris decreased craving strength … from 70% to 56%”, researcher Jackie Andrade says in a press release.

Andrade said that Tetris is one of the more engaging games, and to be able to play it correctly, people actually have to devote a great amount of attention to it, despite it being such a simple task overall.

30 percent of the reported cravings pertain to food and non-alcoholic beverages. Food cravings tended to be slightly weaker than those in the other categories. Tetris will always be a fun game, but could playing Tetris end harmful addictive behavior for good? 21 percent reportedly showed hankering for substances, such as drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee, while 16 percent was for sex, sleeping, playing video game and socialization.

The theory behind the connection is that the addictive qualities of video games can be harnessed to deter people from caving in to other, more harmful cravings, like smoking or snacking excessively. Authors of the study claim this was the first test of its kind to reveal that cognitive interference can be used outside the lab to prevent urges for substances and activities other than eating.

“People played the game 40 times on average but the effect did not seem to wear off”, Professor Jon May, also of Plymouth University added. Tetris is simple and engaging, and could provide a basis for further research into addiction therapies.