Chew On This
Need to remember something for about 30 minutes, like a new phone number or password? Try chewing on some gum. Studies throughout the world have found that when people are chewing on gum, they perform better on audio and visual tasks than they do without chewing. Of course, if you are adverse to gum, the act of chewing alone seems to stimulate the same result—more focus and better concentration.
However, if you suddenly have a pop quiz, don’t reach for the Trident. Another study found that those who didn’t chew gum performed better on tasks that used short-term memory. Stick to mastication for tasks using long-term memory.
