A new study has found that engaging in "self-expanding" can help with nicotine craving.
The study has revealed that 'self-expanding' activities, such as puzzle-solving, games, or hobbies with one's partner, appears to reduce craving for nicotine.
Arthur Aron, PhD, a Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University, said that an self-expansion activities yielded significantly greater activation in a major reward region of the brain, which is associated with addictive behaviors, than did non-expanding conditions and may help people reduce the desire to smoke.
Aron added that in addition to the importance of this work for smoking cessation, their study has also found the rewarding effects of doing specifically self-expanding activities with one's romantic partner.
The study was published online in PLOS ONE.
