Playing Tetris Can Help Stop Addictive Behaviors

A new study shows playing the video game Tetris for as little as 3 minutes at a time can reduce cravings for drugs and food (including cigarettes, alcohol, and coffee) and other addictive activities like sex and sleeping, by approximately one fifth.

The first of its kind, the test involved monitoring people in their everyday lives outside of a laboratory, comparing their cravings with game play, over a period of 7 days. It followed 31 undergraduates, age 17 to 27, who were asked to report 7 times per day via text message on any cravings they were experiencing.

The study is to be published by the journal Addictive Behaviors, however, further research is recommended.

"This is the first demonstration that cognitive interference can be used outside the lab to reduce cravings for substances and activities other than eating," says Professor Jackie Andrade, from the School of Psychology and the Cognition Institute at Plymouth University. "We think 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."

Craving was reported in 30% of occasions in the study, mostly for food and non-alcoholic drinks. 21% cravings were for substances categorized as drugs, including coffee, cigarettes, wine, and beer, while 16% were for other activities such as sleeping, playing video games, socializing, and sex.

Professor Jon May of Plymouth University says the impact of Tetris on craving was consistent throughout the study on all craving types.

"People played the game 40 times on average but the effect did not seem to wear off. This finding is potentially important because an intervention that worked solely because it was novel and unusual would have diminishing benefits over time as participants became familiar with it," says May.

Professor Andrade adds that people can use Tetris as a tool to help manage cravings in their daily lives and over extended periods of time.