Sugarless Gum
Teachers absolutely hate it, which might explain why students feel compelled to chew gum in class. Now a new study finds that chewing sugarless gum in class or while doing homework may actually improve academic performance in teens by increasing brain attention.
And while you might question the objectivity of a study funded by the Wrigley Science Institute (part of the US-based chewing gum giant William Wrigley Jr), experts from the Baylor College of Medicine insist this did not have any impact on the design or outcome of the research.
Earlier work in the lab had shown that chewing gum helps reduce stress, relieves anxiety and improves levels of alertness.
The Wrigley company had been getting regular feedback form customers who believed that chewing gum helped them focus and concentrate, and it was this information that brought about the foundation of the Wrigley Science Institute to work with independent researchers, like the team at Baylor, to uncover any potential health benefits of chewing gum.
This includes benefits in areas like focus, alertness and concentration, controlling situational stress, managing appetite and weight, as well as improving oral health.
Craig Johnston, PhD an instructor in pediatrics-nutrition at Baylor and his colleagues enlisted 108 eighth grade subjects (52 girls, 56 boys) aged 13 to 16 years in from four middle school math classes and randomly assigned them to one of two groups.
One group chewed Wrigley's sugarless gum during school, while working on homework and as they took a standardized math test. Subjects chewed gum 86% of their time in class, 36% of the time spent doing homework. The control group didn't chew anything during these same activities.
The students who chewed gum had a 3% (small but still statistically significant) increase in their standardized math test (the test was the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) scores after 14 weeks of chewing away as compared to those who hadn't chewed anything.
The gum chewers final math grades were also "significantly better" than students who were part of the non-gum-chewing control group.
Educators who have seen the research are impressed. Especially since this is the first ever study to be completed in a real world school setting with students.
"Some researchers speculate that a decreased level of stress leads to better focus and concentration, which may explain the relationship between gum chewing and increased focus and concentration," Johnston explains.
He adds that the study, "demonstrates the potential benefits of chewing gum on academic performance in a real-life, classroom setting with teenagers."
Of course more work is needed to see if gum chewing has the same effect on other subjects like English or World Geography, for example.
It's also difficult to tell if the improved math grades and testing scores were a result of the gum being chewed, or if any form of eating or other movement would have had the same impact.
What's more, as any parent of a teen will tell you, giving kids this age a chance to do something that might otherwise be forbidden in class is a powerful motivator.
Other experts, who have no ties to the work, claim that the chewing gum may reduce stress, and this makes concentrating easier. That improved concentration is what allows for the improved academic performance.
At the very least, the unique study on the link with brain attention gives parents (and teachers) something to chew on.
Next just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more easy ways to improve your brain attention span, plus get 5 free fantastic health reports.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kirsten_Whittaker
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