Science says there are health benefits to shifting blocks into strategic arrangements.
Research from the University of Plymouth has determined Tetris, the Greatest Game of All Time, to be a viable antidote to cravings for drugs, food, sleep and even sex. The week-long study suggests playing for as little as three minutes can reduce one’s desire for such indulgences by approximately one-fifth.
“We think the Tetris effect happens because craving involves imagining the experience of consuming a particular substance or indulging in a particular activity,” says professor Jackie Andrade. “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.”
It doesn’t take a genius to conclude that cognitive interference hinders a person’s ability to fully commit mental energy and effort to more than one thing at a time, but the Tetris effect is especially notable because it tends to last even after playing and isn’t thrown off by urges like, say, being lured away from the game by a teasing pack of cigarettes on your desk.
The real problem starts when you develop an addiction to Tetris and have nothing left to control the craving.
Life starts now:
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