McGonigal: Playing Tetris before bed suppresses traumatic flashbacks and nightmares
Jane McGonigal · #127 Best of 2021: Conversations of the Year · Dec 21, 2021 · at 53:18
Game designer Jane McGonigal explains clinical research on using visual video games to interrupt traumatic rumination and flashbacks.
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“Playing a game right before bed will essentially hijack the attention center, and especially the visual centers if it's a game that's very visual. I mean, Tetris is like the golden game in clinical trials when they study this effect. It's like Tetris is The best option because it literally hijacks your brain like you close your eyes and you see the falling, you know, Tetris blocks. But any game that can really focus your attention will make it less likely for you to be then lying in bed, trying to fall asleep with all these negative thoughts or having nightmares and flashbacks that you can't control.”
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