Throughout high school, memorization was key for academics. From the facts you would have to memorize in history, to the procedures for math, memorization was key. Before every test, I would try to improve on these skills. In my psychology class we would learn techniques to improve these skills, such as studying certain topics in different rooms so that one could correlate the two with each other. Another tactic we learned was to come up with acronyms for long sayings. Unfortunately for me, the thought of chewing gum and improving memory never once crossed my mind. I mean why would it? There is no logical reason to believe they correlate. I wish I had thought deeper about the two before, because I’ve been missing out.
According to Psychologist World, the correlation is quite simple. Out at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, England, they performed an experiment. This experimented was performed on 75 participants, and they were each given a memory test. 1/3 of the group was to chew gum, 1/3 was to do a chewing motion with no gum, while the final 1/3 was to not chew anything. Their findings showed that approximately 35% of the participants who chewed gum had improved recall from when they weren’t chewing gum (Psychologist World). These results definitely show a correlation between the two, but it does not supply reasoning for the correlation. According to Andrew Scholey of the University of Northumbria, this can have several explanations. The first is that in March 2000, Japanese researchers found out a break between these two activities. They found that brain activity in the hippocampus, which is located in the medial temporal lobe, is increased when one performs a chewing action. Though the reasoning for this increase is unknown, it still is happening. The other possible explanation is that chewing increases one’s heartbeat. When your heartbeat increases, your blood is flowing faster. Because of this, blood is now flowing faster to the brain then it once was, thus brain activity is also increasing (New Scientist).
Though this shows a correlation between the two, it does not prove it. Because of this, I sought out to find more studies done on the topic. I stumbled upon a 2011 experiment conducted by Serge Onyper. Serge, like those of the University of Northumbria, had the participants partake in cognitive tests, to test the effects of the gum. From his findings, he too found a correlation between memory and chewing gum. Though his findings were similar, his explanation was quite different. Serge stated that these findings were based off of a simple concept. This was that chewing gum helps wake you up. Because of this, one is now more alert after chewing gum for quite some time, and thus their average test scores will go up (Serge Onyper).
This is not all that they found. They found that the improving test scores is caused by a phenomenon called the “mastication-induced arousal.” This is when arousal happens right before a test, and thus allows for more blood to flow to the brain, right before the test taking begins. This is a result of the chewing gum. Though one would think that if it helps to chew it before, it would help to chew during, this is not the case according to Onyper. His findings show that chewing gum during the cognitive tests showed zero change in average score (Live Science). So, grab that pack of gum and start chewing before your next exam, but once the teacher allows you to begin, spit it out because you are no longer benefiting yourself by chewing it.
Now, looking back, this concept seems quite practical. The correlation between the two no longer seems absurd rather it is very logical. Of course you are going to score better when you chew gum it wakes you up! Now I know that when I am studying for my next test, and when I right before I take it, I will always have a pack of gum on me.
Works Cited
“Memory and Chewing Gum.” – Memory Psychology. N.p., 17 Jan. 2008. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. <http://www.psychologistworld.com/memory/chewing_gum.php>.
“Chewing Gum Improves Memory.” New Scientist. N.p., 13 Mar. 2002. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. <https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2039-chewing-gum-improves-memory/>.
Welsh, By Jennifer. “Gum-Chewing Improves Test Performance, Study Suggests.” LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 16 Dec. 2011. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. <http://www.livescience.com/17520-chewing-gum-test-performance.html>.
Nicholas- Your blog about how chewing gum can help improve memory and test performance really struck my eye! Although I can certainly live without it, I’ve always opted to chew gum during school and while studying. I simply enjoy the refreshing mint flavor. Prior to reading your blog, I never before associated chewing gum with memory improvement. It’s interesting that studies show there’s definitely a correlation between the two, but scientists are still unsure of the reasoning behind it. Out of the possible explanations you explained, I think that chewing gum helps wake you up, making you more alert and able to concentrate. To add on to your findings, I stumbled upon this article that gives an indepth explanation as to how chewing gum can help students stay focused on long tasks that require continuous concentration. Next time i’m feeling sluggish while cramming for exam, I’ll definitely grab a piece of gum to awaken my taste buds and refocus my concentration on the academic material!
I really enjoyed this post because I think it is really helpful for all students and because I wrote something similar to this a couple days ago. I looked at the benefits and downfalls of chewing gum, and one of the benefits was improving academic performance, which was linked to memory. I found studies similar to the ones you found. There was one done by Baylor College that took two groups, one chewing gum group and the other not chewing gum, and evaluated there test scores. The ones that chewed gum had higher increase in test scores than the non chewers. I think that knowing about the benefits of chewing gum is really important, especially for college kids and finals coming up. If you want to read more about the studies I found, here is the link.
http://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/11/29/should-i-chew-gum/
This is really an interesting article, though I am not a person who likes to chew gums that much. I remembered a study conducted by the British Psychological Society, stated that chewing gum improves your ability to concentrate. This experiment made participants to recall audio memory tracks. And the result showed that “participants who were chewing gum throughout testing periods during the experiment had faster and more accurate reaction times versus those who were not.” (Schumann) http://www.ibtimes.com/chewing-gum-study-researchers-say-it-can-make-you-overweight-hungry-increases-concentration-1154547
If Gum was the answer to amazing memory i think it would be priced much higher then $3.00 a pack. I personally love chewing but have never thought about the fact that it might make my memory be better. “The other possible explanation is that chewing increases one’s heartbeat. When your heartbeat increases, your blood is flowing faster. Because of this, blood is now flowing faster to the brain then it once was, thus brain activity is also increasing (New Scientist).” This part of your blog is the only part that makes scientific sense to me and it is really interesting. As far as the rest of the studies I think that it could be possible that they are just have correlation but not causation. Even though their seems to be practical evidence we have looked at many examples in class where the answer was correlation does not equal causation. As far as the studies that you did I think they would be more valuable to us if they decided to test the same person against their own memory in essence do a 2 sample t-test. This test would mean that one person would chew gum for a certain amount of time during a week and complete memory tasks and then the same person would not chew gum for a certain about of time during a week and re-take the same tests. This way we are minimizing the confounding variables and making it more the gum affecting memory.
Here is the link for the ABC news article.
Nicholas, this post, if valid, is so beneficial to me as a student who is looking for all of the help she can get when it comes to retaining information for tests! Related to a concept we speak about frequently in class, the risk is basically nonexistent while benefit is potentially so great; therefore, it is clear that attempting chewing gum to improve memory is a viable option. My seventh grade math teacher always handed out mints before her exams with the same idea in mind and I always wondered if it was a myth. This post led me to wonder if there are any potential health side effects involved with frequently chewing gum. An article from ABC news describes the gross side effects of chewing gum. Apparently, after many studies were conducted, people are shown to eat less fruit and more junk food after chewing gum. Next, you may develop temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) and experience discomfort and pain in your jaw. Due to the access air swallowed while chewing gum, one may develop irritable bowel syndrome. The sugar in gum may result in tooth decay. All of the effects stated, however, seem highly unlikely and only develop in a small percentage of the members of the population who chew gum daily. In my opinion, I would be more confident in the research findings you dressed then those dangers I just acknowledged- be not afraid and chew away for your memory’s sake!