Tetris can help reduce traumatic stress trauma

40 volunteers took part in an Oxford University study. After all had viewed a range of distressing imagery, half were left to do nothing for 30 minutes whilst half were allowed to play Tetris. The reported number of flashbacks, a common side effect of PTSD, was significantly fewer for the Tetris players over the subsequent week.

“We wanted to find a way to dampen down flashbacks – the raw sensory images of trauma that are over-represented in the memories of those with PTSD,” the report’s Dr Emily Holmes stated.

“Tetris may work by competing for the brain's resources for sensory information. We suggest it specifically interferes with the way sensory memories are laid down in the period after trauma and thus reduces the number of flashbacks that are experienced afterwards.”

Tetris, which was designed by Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov at the USSR Academy of Science, was arguably the first globally successful casual game. It was first released in 1985 and has appeared on more or less every gaming device ever made, as well as host of more general electrical devices such as mobile phones, calculators and PDAs. It is best known for its 1989 Game Boy iteration, and has graced the top of numerous ‘best game of all time’ lists.

Source: BBC