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Chewing Gum Makes People Smarter
March 14, 2002 8:00 CDT
British researchers are reporting that chewing gum could actually make people smarter. The study by the University of Northumbria and the Cognitive Research Unit, Reading, determined that gum chewing has a positive effect on thinking and memory.
"The results were extremely clear and specifically we found that chewing gum targeted memory," said Andrew Scholey of the university's Human Cognitive Neuroscience Unit. "People recalled more words and performed better in tests on working memory."
It doesn't matter what flavor or type of gum is chewed. The repetitive chewing motion is what makes the difference. Scholey addressed a symposium at the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Blackpool on Wednesday and said that the improved performance in several different memory tests could likely be due to an increase in heart rate along with a surge of insulin in the brain.
A group of seventy-five people were split into groups of non-chewers, real chewers, and "sham" chewers. Before they went through the 25-minute test, the two chewing groups spent three minutes playing with their real or imaginary gum in their mouths.
The tests included questions that related to short-term memory, such as recalling words and pictures, and working memory, such as being able to remember a person's telephone number. Scholey said that the heart rate of the actual chewers was three beats per minute faster than the non-chewers, and 1.5 beats per minute faster than the sham chewers.
"What we think is that the mild increase in heart rate may improve the delivery of oxygen and glucose to the brain, enough to improve cognitive function," said Scholey in a Reuters interview. He also said there was a possibility that chewing gum induced a surge of insulin due to the mouth watering in anticipation of a meal. "It is known that there are insulin receptors in areas of the brain which are important for learning and memory," he said.
Source: University of Northumbria and the Cognitive Research Unit; Reuters
March 14, 2002 8:00 CDT
British researchers are reporting that chewing gum could actually make people smarter. The study by the University of Northumbria and the Cognitive Research Unit, Reading, determined that gum chewing has a positive effect on thinking and memory.
"The results were extremely clear and specifically we found that chewing gum targeted memory," said Andrew Scholey of the university's Human Cognitive Neuroscience Unit. "People recalled more words and performed better in tests on working memory."
It doesn't matter what flavor or type of gum is chewed. The repetitive chewing motion is what makes the difference. Scholey addressed a symposium at the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Blackpool on Wednesday and said that the improved performance in several different memory tests could likely be due to an increase in heart rate along with a surge of insulin in the brain.
A group of seventy-five people were split into groups of non-chewers, real chewers, and "sham" chewers. Before they went through the 25-minute test, the two chewing groups spent three minutes playing with their real or imaginary gum in their mouths.
The tests included questions that related to short-term memory, such as recalling words and pictures, and working memory, such as being able to remember a person's telephone number. Scholey said that the heart rate of the actual chewers was three beats per minute faster than the non-chewers, and 1.5 beats per minute faster than the sham chewers.
"What we think is that the mild increase in heart rate may improve the delivery of oxygen and glucose to the brain, enough to improve cognitive function," said Scholey in a Reuters interview. He also said there was a possibility that chewing gum induced a surge of insulin due to the mouth watering in anticipation of a meal. "It is known that there are insulin receptors in areas of the brain which are important for learning and memory," he said.
Source: University of Northumbria and the Cognitive Research Unit; Reuters
