Chewing Gum For the Mind?

Chewing is also said to reduce stress, control weight and even sharpen your focus.

A study unwrapped at the 2008 10th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine found that chewing gum:
"Relieved Anxiety: When chewing gum, participants reported lower levels of anxiety. Gum chewers showed a reduction in anxiety as compared to non-gum chewers by nearly 17 percent during mild stress and nearly 10 percent in moderate stress.

Increased Alertness: Participants experienced greater levels of alertness when they chewed gum. Gum chewers showed improvement in alertness over non-gum chewers by nearly 19 percent during mild stress and 8 percent in moderate stress.

Reduced Stress: Stress levels were lower in participants who chewed gum. Levels of salivary cortisol (a physiological stress marker) in gum chewers were lower than those of non-gum chewers by 16 percent during mild stress and nearly 12 percent in moderate stress.
Improved Performance: Chewing gum resulted in a significant improvement in overall performance on multi-tasking activities. Both gum-chewers and non-chewers showed improvement from their baseline scores; however, chewing gum improved mean performance scores over non-gum chewers by 67 percent during moderate stress and 109 percent in mild stress. "

It was Frank Lloyd Wright who said: “Television is chewing gum for the eyes.” Does it follow that chewing gum is television for the mouth? If so then these new double duty chewing gums--exotically flavored, teeth whitening, breath freshening and strengthening gums-- could be called the PBS for the mouth—entertainingly flavorful and also good for you.


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/119826.php
http://www.wrigley.com/wrigley/about/about_story_gum.asp
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-03-28-wrigley-gum-institute_x.htm