Need to focus? Chew gum

In a new study, scientists have shown that chewing gum can help one concentrate better on tasks that require constant attention. Chewing gum aids concentration, and can help one stay focused longer, says a study by Kate Morgan and colleagues at Cardiff University, published in the British Journal of Psychology. Previous research had shown that chewing gum can improve concentration in visual memory tasks. This study focussed on the potential benefits of chewing gum during an audio memory task, reports Science Daily. Kate Morgan, author of the study explained: "It's been well established by previous research that chewing gum can benefit some areas of cognition. In our study, we focussed on an audio task that involved short-term memory recall to see if chewing gum would improve concentration, especially in the latter stages of the task." The results showed that participants who chewed gum had quicker reaction times and more accurate results than participants who didn't chew gum. This was especially the case towards the end of the task. Kate explained: "Interestingly, participants who didn't chew gum performed slightly better at the beginning of the task but were overtaken by the end. This suggests that chewing gum helps us focus on tasks that require continuous monitoring over a longer amount of time."