A study led by
Jason Moser, Michigan State University associate professor of psychology,
found that anxious
college students who played a simple brain game were less
distracted and
anxious. Photo by G.L. Kohuth
(August 12, 2015) Researchers
have created a surprisingly simple yet targeted brain game that reduces anxiety
by helping people focus in an increasingly distracting world.
In a study led by Michigan State University’s Jason Moser,
anxious college students who completed a video game-like exercise that involved
identifying shapes stayed more focused and showed less anxiety.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the
United States, affecting 40 million adults, and the peak time for the disorders
is ages 18-25. While the research is the first scientific step toward
addressing the effects of distraction on anxiety, it could eventually lead to
an everyday solution.
“Down the line we could roll out an online or mobile game
based on this research that specifically targets distraction and helps people
stay focused and feel less anxious,” said Moser, associate professor of
clinical psychology.
In the study, participants with both low and high anxiety
completed a focus task in which they identified a specific shape in a series of
shapes (e.g., a red circle amid red squares, diamonds and triangles). Afterward
they were given an exercise designed to distract them (by mixing in different
colored shapes), but it didn’t.