Are you having a particularly difficult time with a GED problem? Is it especially tough for you to focus on your studies after work? Try popping a piece of minty fresh gum for a quick mental boost. It works even better than caffeine!
Sound strange? Maybe, but this Wired.com blog post details a recent study at New York’s St. Lawrence University that shows that gum chewing may provide short-term cognitive benefits. A group of students were randomly given gum or forced to work sans gum on a number of challenging cognitive tasks. The results were noteworthy – the gum chewers outperformed others in five out of six of the tasks. A number of other studies mentioned in the blog post describe similar results.
Research has shown that the increase in performance may only last 15-20 minutes, but isn’t that enough to power you through a set of demanding RLA questions or to get a couple new social studies terms memorized? Remember that small, focused bursts of study can contribute to your overall improvement as much as larger chunks of study time.
The apparatus behind the mental boost from gum chewing is not fully known, although researchers have attributed it to “mastication-induced arousal.” That is, the act of chewing wakes us up and helps us focus. A comment on the benefits of gum chewing is amusing and accurate: “Gum appears to be a functional food with function but no food.”
Should gum chewing be the backbone of your GED prep strategy? Of course not. Should you try popping some gum to help you power through 15 minutes of focused study? Sure! The gum will help you concentrate without the jitters of caffeine, and you’ll get fresh breath out of the deal. What’s not to like?
