The venerable video game Tetris was used in a recent experiment to create a state of ‘flow’ — the term psychologists use to describe a state of mind so engaged it makes the rest of the world fall away, and time pass more quickly. Researchers have found that state of perfect disengagement may improve the otherwise-emotionally unpleasant experience of awaiting uncertain news. The participants who achieved flow – those in the adaptive group – experienced less negative emotion.