Photo by user Swamibu on Flickr
Break out the gum. It's finals time!
A new study suggests that popping a stick of your favorite sticky stuff five minutes before taking a test could actually help improve your score.
St Lawrence University Assistant Professor of Psychology Serge Onyper, the lead researcher, found that among the 80 undergrad who participated in the study, the gum-chewers did better on their tests than their counterparts.
Those with the gum experienced "mastication-induced arousal", leading to a boost in performance, but it only lasted for about 20 minutes of test-taking.
Other studies had already probed that physical activity can boost the performance of students in the classroom. In this study the researchers had found that even mild activity, like gum chewing, can have a positive effect on the brain.
Remember we have said that only works for 20 minutes. So, make sure your students spit out before they take a test. The study also found that chewing gum could actually detract away from performance due to "a sharing of resources by cognitive and mastication processes.
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Milton Ramirez
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