Craving delay

1. When a craving hits, press Start. You don't have to decide anything until the timer ends.
2. While it runs, go through the 4 Ds and tick them off: delay, deep breaths, drink water, do something else.
3. Still going? Press +5 minutes. When it ends, check in. If it's still strong, start another delay or switch to urge surfing.

Quit-smoking services teach the "4 Ds" for a craving: delay acting on it for a few minutes, take deep breaths, drink water and do something else (Quit (opens in a new tab), Smokefree NZ (opens in a new tab), QuitNow (opens in a new tab)). They say a craving usually passes within minutes, though their figures differ.

In a week-long study with 31 students, playing Tetris for 3 minutes when a craving hit made it feel weaker, for cravings including nicotine, alcohol, food and gaming (Skorka-Brown et al., 2015 (opens in a new tab)). In a lab study, Tetris lowered cravings more than just waiting did (Skorka-Brown et al., 2014 (opens in a new tab)), so the timer comes with things to do. A review of experiments found a short bout of exercise lowered cigarette cravings (Haasova et al., 2013 (opens in a new tab)).

These studies are small or about nicotine, and they measured how strong cravings felt, not whether people gave in. Distraction is for cravings you can feel: for habits you do without thinking, watching for the moment worked better than distraction in diary studies (Wood & Neal, 2016 (opens in a new tab)), which is what Break a habit is for.

• A craving you can feel: a vape after a match, a snack, an energy drink, "one more game".
• For a habit you do without thinking, like picking up your phone, Break a habit fits better.
• If you'd rather watch the craving than distract yourself, try urge surfing.

For alcohol or drugs, this is a coping tool, not treatment. If you drink a lot regularly, don't stop suddenly on your own: get medical help first (opens in a new tab).