Chomping on gum can boost alertness by 10%

By Chris Brooke

It’s a habit that divides opinion, but new scientific evidence reveals that chewing gum is actually good for the brain.

Chomping away boosts thinking and alertness and the study reveals reaction times among chewers are up to 10 per cent faster.

The report will be welcome news to celebrity gum chewers such as football manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is rarely seen on the touchline without a stick of gum in his mouth.

The Japanese research published in the journal Brain and Cognition suggests as many as eight areas of the brain are affected by the simple act of chewing.
One theory to explain the greater performance is that chewing increases arousal and leads to temporary improvements in blood flow to the brain.
Volunteers carried out tasks while chewing and not chewing gum as their brains were scanned to see which areas were active.
During the 30-minute tests participants pressed a button with their right or left thumb in response to the direction of an arrow on a screen

Volunteers carried out tasks while chewing and not chewing gum as their brains were scanned to see which areas were active.

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