In honor of Stress Awareness Day, experts are reviewing fun ways to reduce stress for better sleep. Playing Tetris before bedtime can actually improve sleep quality and help you fall asleep faster because you are more relaxed.

According to original research conducted by Dr. Jane McGonigal, puzzle games train the brain to relax. Courtney Beatey of the psychology advice website PracticalPie explains how this "Tetris effect" can improve sleep. If you don't stop playing 60-90 minutes before bed, the blue light from your device can disrupt your sleep.

"The key," says Beatey, "is to train the mind to focus on relaxing thoughts and images associated with sleep. Once your brain gets used to repeatedly focusing on these images, you will be less distracted by stressful thoughts."

She continued: "By repeating acts such as meditating or imagining Tetris blocks falling into place, the brain will recognize these moments as prerequisites for sleep."

Beattie also notes that this effect helps protect against negative thoughts because the natural human tendency is to remember negative events better than pleasant ones. This habit is called the "negativity bias. Beattie explains: "For example, regular gratitude trains the brain to recall the positive aspects of an event and removes negative thinking."

Tetris, which first appeared in the 1980s, is a popular puzzle game in which falling tiles are rotated to create horizontally aligned blocks. It became so popular and "addictive" that it had a significant physiological impact on players.

Jeffrey Goldsmith of Wired magazine named this effect the "Tetris Effect. He explained that this effect occurs when a player, after playing the game for an extended period of time, begins to see Tetris patterns in real objects such as furniture and buildings.

While Tetris can help relieve stress before bed, it is important to remember that playing video games exposes you to blue light, which can have a negative effect on sleep patterns.

According to a paper published by Harvard Medical School, blue light (light from screens with blue wavelengths) can disrupt our circadian rhythms (internal body clocks) and negatively affect sleep quality.

The journal explains that all light at night decreases the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that affects sleep patterns, but blue light is more powerful than, for example, the light from a table lamp.

"Nighttime light is part of the reason many people don't get enough sleep," Harvard sleep researcher Stephen Lockley told Harvard Health Publishing.

Does that mean you should stop relaxing with Tetris before bed? Claire Davis, a certified sleep science coach at Tom's Guide, says it's okay to play Tetris even in the evening as long as it's not too close to bedtime. [Blue light is emitted from phones, tablets, TVs, and laptop screens, and that light can disrupt our natural sleep cycle by inhibiting the production of melatonin (the hormone that makes us sleepy)," Davis notes. Reducing exposure to blue light 60 to 90 minutes before bedtime "helps the body prepare for sleep."

There are glasses with orange lenses that purport to block blue light, but a determination has yet to be made as to whether these glasses are actually effective. A 2021 study showed that these lenses may be effective for some people suffering from insomnia, but neuroscientist Dr. Steven Lockley said more research is needed. In a paper published by Harvard Medical School, Dr. Lockley argues that the study is not detailed enough to draw that conclusion.

"The timing, duration, and nature of nighttime light exposure in the summaries of these studies were not clear," the school explained.

Good sleep hygiene (simply put, habits that improve sleep) can be established by following these sleep tips:

1. Establish a consistent sleep schedule: If you set your alarm for the same time each morning and go to bed at the same time each night, including weekends, your body's sleep cycle will If this is not possible, try to set your alarm for the same time every morning. If this seems difficult, see our guide on how to reset your sleep schedule.

2. Make your bedroom a sleep-friendly space: It is not just what time you go to bed that is important for sleep hygiene. Investing in the best mattress and pillow for your body and sleeping position can greatly improve the quality of your sleep.

3. Create a relaxing bedtime routine: take a warm bath or shower to unwind, replace your phone screen with a relaxing book, or dim the lights.

4. eat and drink in moderation throughout the day: avoid spicy foods, alcohol, and caffeine, and avoid overeating at bedtime. Instead, eat light, healthy snacks.

5. Make exercise a part of your daily routine: A half hour of exercise a day can greatly improve the quality of your sleep. If you want to relax and get moving before bed, try yoga before bedtime.