How To Reduce Cravings For Sweets, Alcohol, Food And Carbs: New Study Says Play Tetris

Ask someone how to reduce cravings and you'll get advice with scientific backing and advice from word-of-mouth that may not be as accurate. But sometimes science finds curious answers to common questions. Case in point: A new study in the journal Appetite found that playing tile-matching puzzle game Tetris can curb your cravings. Yes, Tetris.

While these findings may sound peculiar, the thought process behind the conclusion is that the game prevents the brain from creating visualizations and imagery of what they want to eat. Skeptical? Consider this: A 2005 study found that the intensity of cravings in subjects who imagined food were higher than those who did not engage in an imagery task.

"Episodes of craving normally only last a few minutes, during which time an individual is visualising what they want and the reward it will bring," explains researcher Jackie Andrade, a professor at the Cognition Institute at Plymouth University, in a statement. "Often those feelings result in the person giving in and consuming the very thing they are trying to resist. But by playing Tetris, just in short bursts, you are preventing your brain [from] creating those enticing images and without them the craving fades."

In this particular study, researchers asked participants to detail cravings by how strong they are. Some participants sat in front of a computer screen and played Tetris and some participants, who were part of the control group, sat in front of a computer that never loaded a game. After three minutes of playing Tetris (or, for the control group, waiting for the game to load) the subjects were asked to rate their cravings again.

The study found that subjects who played Tetris reported weaker cravings--24 percent weaker cravings, to be exact--when compared to those who did not play the game. The findings support the elaborated intrusion (EI) theory, which hypothesizes that imagery is a key component to craving and in turn, engaging in a visual task should, in principle, reduce it.

“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,” said Professor Andrade. “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. 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.”