--- title: Playing Tetris Can Reduce PTSD Symptoms description: Playing the computer game Tetris can prevent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from developing in some individuals canonical: https://time.com/4720555/tetris-ptsd-trauma-study/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-31T14:57:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T10:51:17.569Z article:section: Health og:title: Playing Tetris Can Reduce PTSD Symptoms, Study Says og:description: If the game is played within six hours of a traumatic incident taking place og:url: https://time.com/4720555/tetris-ptsd-trauma-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a54e6894125cc91/6988a2ea0b72e352cf6eab27/best-video-games-tetris.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: (KG) FE15STTETRIS -- Tetris fanatics meet every month for intense head-to-head competititon in a double-elimination tournament format. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Mar 31, 2017 2:57 PM UTC  (KG) FE15STTETRIS -- Tetris fanatics meet every month for intense head-to-head competititon in a double-elimination tournament format. Karl Gehring/The Denver Post (Photo By Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images) (KG) FE15STTETRIS -- Tetris fanatics meet every month for intense head-to-head competititon in a double-elimination tournament format. Karl Gehring/The Denver Post (Photo By Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images) Karl Gehring—Denver Post/Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Mar 31, 2017 2:57 PM UTC Playing the computer game [Tetris](http://time.com/3449402/tetris-movie/) can prevent [post-traumatic stress disorder](http://time.com/4457122/post-traumatic-marijuana-military-veterans-embracing-drug/) (PTSD) from developing in some individuals after they suffer a traumatic event, according to a new study. Researchers from the [Karolinska Institute](http://news.cision.com/karolinska-institutet/r/post-traumatic-stress-symptoms-can-be-prevented-by-using-tetris-in-the-emergency-department,c2216455) in Sweden showed that survivors of motor vehicle accidents have fewer unpleasant, recurrent and intrusive memories (a symptom of PTSD commonly referred to as a “flashback”) if they play the block matching puzzle game within six hours after they are admitted to hospital and asked to briefly recall their memory of the accident. For the study, which was published in the journal _Molecular Psychiatry_, 71 motor vehicle accident victims were assessed. Half of them recalled the trauma briefly and then played Tetris while waiting in the hospital’s emergency room, while the other half performed a different task, all within six hours of the accident. The researchers found that those who played Tetris as part of the experience had fewer intrusive memories of the trauma in total over the week immediately following the accident than the other group. They also found that the intrusive memories diminished more quickly. This fit the researchers’ hypothesis that playing Tetris, a visually demanding game, could prevent the intrusive aspects of the traumatic memories from becoming consolidated in the mind. “Anyone can experience trauma,” said Emily Holmes, a professor of psychology at Karolinska Institutet’s Department of Clinical Neuroscience, who led the study. “It would make a huge difference to a great many people if we could create simple behavioral psychological interventions using computer games to prevent post-traumatic suffering and spare them these grueling intrusive memories.” As a month is the shortest time after which a PTSD diagnosis can be made, further research is needed on larger patient groups to see if the psychological benefits of interventions, such as playing Tetris persist for a longer time. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4720555/tetris-ptsd-trauma-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4720555/tetris-ptsd-trauma-study/"},"headline":"Playing Tetris Can Reduce PTSD Symptoms, Study Says","datePublished":"2017-03-31T14:57:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:51:17.569Z","description":"If the game is played within six hours of a traumatic incident taking place","url":"https://time.com/4720555/tetris-ptsd-trauma-study/","keywords":["Research","PTSD","Trauma","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a54e6894125cc91/6988a2ea0b72e352cf6eab27/best-video-games-tetris.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a54e6894125cc91/6988a2ea0b72e352cf6eab27/best-video-games-tetris.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"(KG) FE15STTETRIS -- Tetris fanatics meet every month for intense head-to-head competititon in a double-elimination tournament format. 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