This Is Your Brain on Candy Crush Saga

Find out what your mobile phone game addiction is really about.

Ten million people agree: Playing is a (sugar) rush. Take a look inside the app's addictive lure and how—in small doses—it can actually boost memory and happiness:

Justin Miller and Elizabeth Natoli

At First Play

• Vibrant colors and cutesy graphics may activate your brain's reward system. As you ID and create patterns (three greens in a row, yessss), audible zings and pops can urge you to keep playing.
• Starting rounds are simple for a reason. Winning early and often triggers your noggin to release mini hits of dopamine, the so-called happy hormone. More, please.
• Seriously. More! Craving dopamine—and sucked in by "Can I get to the next level?" anticipation—you instinctively whip out your smartphone whenever and wherever...on the train, in the car, on the couch, at the, um, office.
• But hey, you are kinda "working." Thirty daily minutes of mobile gaming can exercise the brain regions responsible for problem-solving, memory, and spatial recognition.

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At First Pay

• As the difficulty increases, so can your willingness to win at any cost—literally. Savvy designers lock you out of the otherwise-free app after a few losses. Wanna continue on, stat? Pay up. (Hooked Crushers fork over 99 cents for extra "lives"—at one point, reportedly to the tune of nearly $1 million per day.)
• Why otherwise sane people part with big bucks to push bonbons around: Activity in the brain's reward system is now drowning out the areas that rule logic and reasoning.
• Your virtual pals egg you on as well. Swapping high scores on social media—which many apps cannily connect to—unleashes even more dopamine.

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After the Crush

• The better your natural willpower, the easier time you'll have logging off. For now, take several deep breaths until the urge to hit "pay" passes.
• And pass it will. Your mind needs novelty to stay engaged, and the repetitive nature of most games eventually leads to boredom. (Per one survey, two-thirds of new users quit altogether within 24 hours of play.)
• Still having a hard time remembering life before Candy Crush Saga? While gaming addictions are real—and can be as strong as drug dependencies—unless you're at it nonstop for five hours, or going broke, the only thing you're really at risk for is wasting a whole lot of time.

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Sources: Adam Gazzaley, M.D., Ph.D., University of California at San Francisco; David Greenfield, Ph.D., University of Connecticut School of Medicine; Petra Kottsieper, Ph.D., Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; Frank J. Lee, Ph.D., Drexel University

For more health news, pick up the April 2015 issue of Women's Health, on newsstands now.