For Better Focus, Chew Gum

Gum chewing may look stupid, but it can make you smart, or at least more focused, according to research conducted at Cardiff University and published by the British Psychological Society. Researchers at the school split a group of 38 participants in to two, one that chewed gum and one that didn’t, and gave both a 30 minute task that involved listening to a list of numbers from 1-9 being read in a random manner. The participants were scored on how well and quickly they detected a sequence of odd-even-odd numbers, such as 7-2-1.  They also completed questionnaires on their mood both before and after the task. The researchers found that those who chewed gum had quicker reaction times and more accurate results than those who didn’t. Read more from the British Psychological Society.