TETRIS
ON THE BRAIN
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What is the connection between Sigmund Freud and Tetris?
One is a famous psychologist who studied the hidden meanings of dreams. The other is a video game. Both make us think, but the connection goes deeper than that.
In 1999, neuroscientist Robert Stickgold of the Harvard Medical School wanted to see if it was possible to influence people’s dreams; something which Freud would have thought impossible.
Freud believed that dreams serve to relieve our anxieties; calming the brain so that we can sleep soundly. But Dr. Stickgold’s research points to a different view: that dreams are the brain’s way of processing information it has learned during the day.
Dr. Stickgold took 27 subjects - some Tetris experts and some complete novices - and had them play the game for a few hours each day, over the course of three days. The subjects’ dreams were monitored over two nights, revealing some interesting results.
Seventeen of the subjects - more than 60 percent - dreamed of falling Tetris pieces. Those that dreamed of Tetris were the ones who performed worse at the game - supporting Dr. Stickgold’s theory about dreams being connected to learning.
So next time you dream about playing Tetris, or any other game for that matter, maybe it means you need to practice more!
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