Playing Tetris on a smartphone could stop food cravings, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the University of Plymouth and Queensland University of Technology found that playing the Russian tile-matching puzzle video game for as little as three minutes at a time can ease cravings for drugs, food and activities such as sex and sleeping by approximately one-fifth, UPI reported.

"We think the Tetris effect happens because craving involves imagining the experience of consuming a particular substance or indulging in a particular activity," Professor Jackie Andrade said in a statement. "Playing a visually interesting game like Tetris occupies the mental processes that support that imagery; it is hard to imagine something vividly and play Tetris at the same time."

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from more than 30 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 27 years, Western Morning News reported. The study participants were prompted seven times a day via text message to report on any cravings they were feeling. They were also encouraged to report cravings proactively, independently of the prompts. Fifteen members of the group were required to play Tetris on an iPod for three minutes, before reporting their craving levels again.

Craving was recorded in 30 percent of occasions, most commonly for food and non-alcoholic drinks, which were reported on nearly two-thirds of those occasions.

They found that playing Tetris decreased craving strength from 70 to 56 percent.

"The impact of Tetris on craving was consistent across the week and on all craving types," said Professor Jon May of Plymouth University. "People played the game 40 times on average but the effect did not seem to wear off. This finding is potentially important because an intervention that worked solely because it was novel and unusual would have diminishing benefits over time as participants became familiar with it."

Andrade said Tetris could be used as a support tool to help people manage their cravings in their daily lives.

The findings are detailed in the journal Addictive Behaviors.