How to Beat Your Cravings

Jones-ing for junk food? Grab your old Game Boy. Playing Tetris for 3 minutes is enough to slash food, caffeine, and nicotine cravings by 24 percent, according to a study from Plymouth University in the U.K.  

A big part of any craving involves imagining what it would be like to give in to your desire, says study coauthor Jackie Andrade, Ph.D. For example: When you want some fries, you imagine how salty and delicious they would taste. But the bright colors and moving shapes you manipulate while playing Tetris scramble your brain’s ability to visualize whatever it is you’re craving, Dr. Andrade says. Her research also shows your desire won’t bounce back right away after you quit the game.

How else can you curb your worst cravings?

Smell the roses. Actually, make that jasmine. Sniffing this flower lowered people’s cravings for sweets 13 percent more than smelling water or green apple, finds a study from Flinders University in Australia. Non-food odors reduce food cravings, the researchers say. 

Mix up your mains. Eating the same or very similar entrees day after day nearly triples the frequency of men’s food cravings, reveals a study in Physiology and Behavior. The “sensory monotony” that results from eating the same things increases your desire to eat more, the authors say. But varying your meal plan reduces cravings, their study data suggests. 

Take a walk. A 15-minute stroll was enough to curb sugary food cravings by almost 50 percent, found a study from the University of Exeter in the UK. Brief bouts of physical activity—whether you jump rope, walk, or lift weights—change the amounts and types of chemicals in your brain, which could explain why your cravings diminish, the study authors say.  

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