Gum is an effective booster of mental performance, conferring all sorts of benefits without any side effects. … chewing gum is often a better test aid than caffeine. [However] gum chewers only showed an increase in performance during the first 20 minutes of testing.
— Lehrer, 2011: The Cognitive Benefits of Chewing Gum in Wired.
Jonah Lehrer has a fascinating article on, how chewing gum improves mental performance“. It does not seem to matter what type of gum, just as long as you’re chewing.
The benefits (briefly and probably overly simplified) of chewing gum:
- Reduces tiredness (Johnson et al., 2011).
- Improves reaction time and improves mood (Smith, 2010).
On the other hand, while chewing might be good for most types of memory, one study found that chewing, and other rhythmic tasks reduces short-term recall of long lists (Kozlov et al., 2011).
Lehrer cites a 2004 review of the research on gum and memory, which describes chewing gum as, “a functional food with function but no food” (Scholey, 2004).
The takehome message for using gum while taking tests:
When taking a test, save the gum for the hardest part, or for those questions when you feel your focus flagging. The gum will help you concentrate, but the help won’t last long.
— Lehrer, 2011: The Cognitive Benefits of Chewing Gum in Wired.
