Playing TETRIS Reduces PTSD Flashbacks, Study Shows

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A new research has suggested that playing Tetris can be favorable for patients suffering from recent trauma, as being engrossed in the tile-matching puzzle game can reduce post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) flashbacks.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who are finding ways to help recent trauma sufferers avoid , believe that Tetris might prevent PTSD after the upsetting event. 

The findings published in the journal Psychological Science discovered that Tetris can block "intrusive memories" associated with traumatic events. A "cognitive blockade" can be generated by playing Tetris as the game involves visual processing that can reduce the clarity of traumatic memories.

For the study, participants were asked to watch a short traumatic film with disturbing scenes, such as drowning and car accidents. The next day, the participants were asked to look at still pictures from the film to "reactivate" their memories. The group was divided into two, where half were asked to play Tetris while the other half were asked to do nothing.

The group that played Tetris had more than 50 percent fewer intrusive memories of the disturbing footage than the control group. The Tetris group also scored lower on a questionnaire for diagnosing PTSD.

"We started with Tetris because there is previous research showing that it uses up visual attention. Think of it like hand washing. Hand washing is not a fancy intervention, but it can reduce all sorts of illness," said lead researcher Emily Holmes, via The Independent. "This is similar - if the experimental result translates, it could be a cheap preventative measure informed by science," she said.

Holmes adds that other visually stimulating games like Candy Crush and other popular mobile games could have the same effect as Tetris. She and her colleagues are conducting trials on people who have been involved in automobile accidents.

Some experts were not impressed by the study, as it was conducted on replicated traumatic memories aided by visual images on the TV. It is a different thing altogether compared to experiencing trauma first-hand.

"If you watch a horror movie, you can get scared for days," Jaine Darwin, trauma and crisis intervention specialist in Massachusetts, told ABC News. "[But] you lack the smell or tactile association of the event."

She adds that the research was "an interesting hypothesis" but it needs further studies before it can be used for trauma patients.

"Memory in general is malleable and it changes over time. In long-term psychotherapy, [patients] construct a new narrative," Darwin explained.