If you’re looking for a good excuse to use your phone, here it is: Research shows that playing a game can actually reduce intensity of cravings. In a 2015 study published in Addictive Behaviors, volunteers who played Tetris for just three minutes reported less intense cravings. And it didn’t apply to just food; cravings were also reduced for other highly addictive substances and activities like alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and sex.
According to one of the coauthors of the study, Jackie Andrade, PhD, this happens because visually appealing games like Tetris require focus and mental processes that occupy so much of the brain that it’s hard to focus on the game and pay attention to your craving at the same time. And since most cravings only last about ten minutes, you’ve already forgotten all about it by the time you’re done playing your game!