After popping a piece of gum into her mouth during a math test, junior Sara Abazovic stopped nervously sweating and felt more focused.

“I always chew gum during tests because it makes me feel more confident in what I’m doing,” Abazovic said. 

According to Kimberley Francis, medical reviewer and dietitian nutritionist, rhythmically chewing gum may have a positive impact on brain functions such as stress management and retention. 

A study conducted by Dr. Paul Ginns, associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Sydney, split participants into gum-chewing and non-chewing groups.

“There’s a number of potential reasons researchers in the past have speculated that chewing gum might support cognitive function, including cognitive functions related to learning,” Ginns said.

In the first part of the study, both groups read a 20-minute lesson and completed a more straightforward multiple choice test on the content to investigate how chewing gum affects alertness and learning, Ginns said. 

The second part of the study included a lesson about complex mental math strategies and focused on measuring learning outcomes regarding comprehension, Ginns said. 

The participants of both parts of the study scored higher on the tests if they were chewing gum compared to if they were not, Ginns said. 

“Across the two studies, [there were] somewhat mixed evidence for chewing gum supporting students’ alertness, but rather stronger evidence for chewing gum supporting students’ learning across the two different types of lessons,” Ginns said. 

According to Clara Yeung, faculty of dentistry graduate from the University of Hong Kong, chewing gum a few times daily can provide benefits to the oral cavity and help reduce dental caries.  

Dental caries is a disease that can cause cavities, Yeung said.

Chewing gum excessively may flatten teeth and could lead to wear and tear, Yeung said. 

Sugar-free gum can stimulate saliva and increase its pH, which makes teeth less prone to being demineralized by bacterial acid and increases the presence of calcium ions, Yeung said.

According to Abazovic, gum keeps her mind more directed on one thing.

“[Gum is] like a fidget in my mouth that I can chew on,” said Abazovic. “So, if I’m really stressed out or I’m mad, I just chew extra hard.”