CANTON, N.Y.—A new study published in the journal Appetite found chewing gum five minutes prior to taking an exam helps improve students’ test scores compared to student who did not chew gum.
Researchers at St. Lawrence University conducted the study and gave a “battery of cognitive tasks" to study participants who chewed gum either prior to or throughout testing. Their performance was then compared with subjects who did not chew gum.
Chewing gum gave the subjects multiple advantages, but only when chewed for five minutes before testing, not for the duration of the test. Benefits persisted for the first 15 to 20 minutes of testing only. The researchers said one possible reason the benefits didn’t continue throughout testing may be due to a sharing of resources by cognitive and masticatory processes. Mastication-induced arousal is credited for the boost, which lasted for about the first 20 minutes or so of testing.
