Chewing on gum could improve cognitive performance, claim scientists recently from the University of Northumbria in the UK, reports Reading Scientific Services.
According to the report, Lucy Wilkinson and Andrew Scholey from the human cognitive neuroscience unit set out to illustrate that chewing gum can improve cognitive performance.
The experiment involved 75 adults split into three groups. The first group chewed sugar-free gum, the second mimicked chewing without gum, and the third did nothing. Computerised assessments were carried out to assess the subjects' cognitive abilities, including attention span, long term memory and their working memory.
The result illustrated that the group that chewed the gum showed improvement in immediate and long term memory, and their word recall was 35 per cent better than the other two groups. Attention span was no different between the groups, suggesting that chewing does not improve concentration.
It has not been established why chewing should improve cognitive performance, but the researchers are exploring a number of theories. Heart rate was measured during the experiment and it was found that it increased during chewing. RSSL reports that it is also thought that chewing releases insulin as a result of the body anticipating food, and the increased heart rate and surge in insulin is likely to result in extra oxygen and glucose to the brain.