Study finds chewing gum may make people smarter

Think gum-chewing and the picture that most often comes to mind is that of an unintelligent airhead. That's just the way society thinks. Most movies portray gum chewers in this way. Schools view it as a disgusting habit, and some even make those poor students who are caught wear the gum on their noses for the rest of the day.

So could it be possible that gum chewing actually makes people smarter?

Researchers at the University of Northumbria in Great Britain think so.

A joint study with the Cognitive Research Unit in Reading has found that chewing gum may increase memory and the ability to think.

Experiments were run on a group of seventy-five people divided into three groups. The control group was a non-chewing group. Of the other two, one group chewed gum for a period of three minutes while the last group was asked to chew imaginary gum for the same amount of time.

When tested immediately afterwards, the gum-chewing group performed significantly better on short-term memory tasks than the other two groups.

While the majority of Princeton students seem to prefer cinnamon to other flavors, the study found that all flavors, whether spearmint, juicyfruit or cinnamon, produce the same effect.

The causes of these surprising results are not yet completely understood. One possible theory is that chewing increases the heart rate and stimulates the flow of oxygen and glucose to the brain, which would improve cognitive functions.

Another possibility is that the act of chewing releases insulin to the areas of the brain responsible for learning and memory.

"I don't really see the correlation. It seems really random and far-fetched, but, hey, if it works, I'd better start chewing some more," Nicole Somers '05 said, her desk littered with cinnamon bubblegum wrappings.

So the next time you see someone chewing away, relax and grab some gum yourself. That bubblegum could be boosting your brainpower!