Could the Video-Game Tetris Curb Cravings for Food, Cigarettes and Alcohol?

Aw Tetris. The crazy tile-matching video game that came out in the 1980s. It certainly seems simple, but there may be more to this game-challenging classic than meets the eye. A recent study suggests that Tetris could actually help dieters reduce cravings.

According to researchers from Plymouth University in the United Kingdom, they worked to examine how the game can affect people's carvings. The study authors were made up of Ph.D. student Jessica Skorka-Brown, as well as Professors Jackie Andrade and Jon May from the University's Cognition Institute.

For the study, researchers created two study groups: One that played Tetris for three minutes while the other group was told that the game was loading but they never received the chance to play. All of the participants were then asked to rate their cravings for cigarettes, food and alcohol based on the vividness, intrusiveness and strength of those cravings.

Those in the Tetris group showed a 24 percent reduction in cravings following their activity with the game. Unfortunately, the other group who did not get to play Tetris did not experience any craving reductions.

"Feeling in control is an important part of staying motivated, and playing Tetris can potentially help the individual to stay in control when cravings strike. It is something a person can quickly access, for the most part whether they are at work or at home, and replaces the feeling of stress caused by the craving itself," Andrade concluded, via Medical Xpress. "Ultimately, we are constantly looking for ways to stimulate cravings for healthy activities - such as exercise - but this a neutral activity that we have shown can have a positive impact."

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the paper, "Playing 'Tetris' reduces the strength, frequency and vividness of naturally occurring cravings," published in the journal Appetite.