A study found that chewing gum can improve concentration in visual memory tasks. The results build on previous research that established chewing gum can benefit some areas of cognition.
The current study involved 38 participants that were split into two groups.
Both groups completed a 30 minute audio task that involved listening to a list of numbers from 1-9 being read out in a random order. Researchers scored participants on how accurately and quickly they were able to detect a sequence of numbers. Participants also completed questionnaires on their mood before and after the task.
Research has shown that the people who chewed gum had a quicker reaction time and more accurate results than the people that didn’t chew gum.
“Interestingly, participants who didn’t chew gum performed slightly better at the beginning of the task but were overtaken by the end,” said study co-author Kate Morgan.
Scientists are not really sure why chewing gum gives you this benefit. “It doesn’t appear to depend on glucose, since sugar-free gum generated the same benefits,” reports Wired. “Instead, the researchers propose that gum enhances performance due to ‘mastication-induced arousal.’ The act of chewing, in other words, wakes us up, ensuring that we are fully focused on the task at hand. Unfortunately, this boost is fleeting.”