Can Playing Tetris Help You Forget Bad Memories?
I came across this article just now.
"Move over,Nintendo Wii. Playing old-school Tetris after a super-stressful event might make bad memories fade faster, British researchers report. Here's why you should whip out your Game Boy after a hard day...
Researchers at Oxford University showed 40 volunteers traumatic images of people getting injured. (Some of the pictures were of drunk driving accidents--eep!) After a 30-minute wait, half of the subjects played Tetris for 10 minutes while the other half did nothing. Those who played the computer game experienced significantly fewer flashbacks of the violent images over the next week. Study authors say that the game may prevent the brain from storing painful memories--as long as it is played immediately after the event. Researchers picked Tetris because the game keeps a large portion of the brain busy when you play it and aren't sure if other games have the same effect.
"There is a period of up to six hours in which it is possible to affect certain types of memories that are laid down in the human mind," co-study author Dr. Catherine Deeprose said. "We have shown that in healthy volunteers, playing Tetris in this time window can reduce flashback-type memories without wiping out the ability to make sense of the event."
Researchers say their findings could be helpful for people who've been in accidents or anyone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The next time you have a really bad day at work or a drag-out fight with a loved one, maybe a few minutes of Tetris will help.
What do you think of playing video games to wipe out bad memories? What do you do immediately after a stressful event? Do you call a friend? Do you try to distract yourself with TV?"
I would really love to try if it works. Hopefully it does. :)
"Move over,Nintendo Wii. Playing old-school Tetris after a super-stressful event might make bad memories fade faster, British researchers report. Here's why you should whip out your Game Boy after a hard day...
Researchers at Oxford University showed 40 volunteers traumatic images of people getting injured. (Some of the pictures were of drunk driving accidents--eep!) After a 30-minute wait, half of the subjects played Tetris for 10 minutes while the other half did nothing. Those who played the computer game experienced significantly fewer flashbacks of the violent images over the next week. Study authors say that the game may prevent the brain from storing painful memories--as long as it is played immediately after the event. Researchers picked Tetris because the game keeps a large portion of the brain busy when you play it and aren't sure if other games have the same effect.
"There is a period of up to six hours in which it is possible to affect certain types of memories that are laid down in the human mind," co-study author Dr. Catherine Deeprose said. "We have shown that in healthy volunteers, playing Tetris in this time window can reduce flashback-type memories without wiping out the ability to make sense of the event."
Researchers say their findings could be helpful for people who've been in accidents or anyone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The next time you have a really bad day at work or a drag-out fight with a loved one, maybe a few minutes of Tetris will help.
What do you think of playing video games to wipe out bad memories? What do you do immediately after a stressful event? Do you call a friend? Do you try to distract yourself with TV?"
I would really love to try if it works. Hopefully it does. :)
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Thanks for reading =)