Feeling Stressed or Anxious? Chew gum

Researchers have introduced a reason for the chewing gum eaters to rejoice. A new study by Australian researchers suggests that chewing gum can reduce stress, anxiety and can even improve memory.

People generally chew gum for dental hygiene, some for mouth muscle exercise, some for escaping to thirst and some for shedding their extra pounds.

Now a novel study, carried out by Andrew Scholey, Ph D, professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia and colleagues, has revealed that chewing gum can reduce stress and anxiety, and can improve alertness and enhance the concentration level for any individual while performing multitasking activities.

The study, presented on August 30, 2008, at the 10th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine Rissho University in Tokyo, recruited nearly 40 participants with an average age of 22 years. The researchers conducted the tests on Defined Intensity Stressor Simulation (DISS), a multi-tasking platform which reliably induces stress and also includes performance measures, while chewing and not chewing gum.

The researchers divided the participants into two groups: Chewing gum eaters and non-chewing gum eaters. They measured all participants’ level of anxiety, alertness and stress before and after completing the DISS.

Interestingly, chewing gum reported lower levels of anxiety after completion of the test. They showed a reduction in anxiety by nearly 17% during mild stress and nearly 10% in moderate stress as compared to non-gum chewers. The chewing gum eaters also measured 19% greater alertness during mild stress and 8% during moderate stress in as compared to their counterparts.

In addition, the levels of salivary cortisol, a physiological stress marker, in gum chewers were lower by 16% during mild stress and nearly 12% in moderate stress as against non-chewing gum eaters.

Chewing gum resulted in a significant improvement in overall performance on multi-tasking activities. Both gum-chewers and non-chewers showed improvement from their baseline scores; however, chewing gum improved mean performance scores over non-gum chewers by 67 per cent during moderate stress and 109 per cent in mild stress.

Overall performances of gum chewers on multi-tasking activities were much better than the non chewers. Although, both gum-chewers and non-chewers showed improvement from their baseline scores, the mean performance of gum-eaters increased by 67% during moderate stress and 109% during mild Stress.

Chewing gum is a sweetened, flavored confection composed primarily of latex (called chicle), both natural and artificial. It comes in a variety of flavors, depending on location, and is most often chewed for the flavor. It is a combination of a water-insoluble phase, known as gum base, and a water-soluble phase of sweeteners, flavoring and sometimes food coloring.

Previous researches have linked chewing gum to several health benefits, ranging from weight loss to dental hygiene. Previously, a German chemical company BASF claimed to have developed the gum that they said at the time contains friendly bacteria, lactobacillus bacteria, which will help prevent decay. Another study has showed that chewing gum may speed recovery after bowel surgery.