Gum, a three letter words with more than triple the benefits.

       As a gum chewing fanatic I decided to push aside my regular three packs of gum for the week to evaluate the true purposes and or benefits of chewing gum.

         According to many scientific studies, gum chewing is said to improve focus.

          As a student who has had trouble focusing in class for several years, my mother who is an occupational therapist at Beverly Public Schools recommended that I start chewing gum.

         Years later chewing gum has become a way of life and I couldn’t imagine a day without it.

    By taking away an everyday “necessity” I decided to see if it was all in my head or if without it I would face negative consequences.

            For an entire week I gave up gum  chewing and here’s what I discovered.

         I noticed that throughout the day my mouth felt a lot more dry than usual and found myself drinking a lot more water each day than I normally would. Although drinking more water was a positive benefit of not chewing gum, I also experienced a lot of negative effects.

      One of the biggest observations I noticed was that throughout the day I felt a lot more tired than usual in my classes. Some may argue that it could have been just lack of sleep however every night of the one week I performed this experiment, I went to bed  around 10-10:30, which is the usual time I go to sleep.

       Still don’t believe it? In  a recent study done by “Reader’s Digest”, chewing gum increases alertness. This is due to constant movement of the jaw. This repetitive activity is said to combat daytime drowsiness by using cerebral activity, and is a healthier alternative than coffee.

       Some additional benefits that may shock you, is that chewing mint gum regularly actually can make you lose weight.

        A study published in 2011, by “Appetite”,  found that chewing gum for at least 45 minutes or 15 minutes per hour, for three hours reduced volume of snack-food consumption, which reduced appetite and promoted fullness. Researchers who were able to conclude this, explained that this new discovery may be a beneficial tool for appetite control and effective weight loss.

           Another jarring difference in my everyday school day was I felt gross after eating lunch. It wasn’t even that I had bad breath, I just felt very off and not fresh.One day I felt so tempted to bring my toothbrush to school so I eventually bought some mints.

            In fact according to the “American Dental Association”, by chewing gum after a meal, it increases salivary flow which can help neutralize and wash away acids that are produced when food is broken down, which helps reduce plaque.

      Something else I noticed on my gum fast, was that I felt less energetic and bored which drove the days to going by so much slower.

         Although I was unable to conclude if without gum I was  more or less focused because you can’t necessarily measure a level focus. I was able to conclude that I performed work at a slower speed and found myself with less work done in my classes than usual.

     Since everyone is different, it is hard to predict the impact of one student chewing gum versus another.

     However Mrs.Rebecca Takesian, a special education teacher, who works in the TLC department at Triton described that although the impact of chewing gum may range from student to student, as a teacher she found that it had more positive effects than negative effects, and actually helped a variety of students in a variety of ways.

     “For years chewing gum was frowned upon at Triton, however after many scientific studies that have been released, with all the positive effects of chewing gum, we are now seeing things with new eyes,” Said Takesian.

        For one of Takesian’s students who has difficulty with function in their mouth. Takesian explained that  “gum chewing will eventually help strengthen the muscles in his mouth and will allow the student to have more secure swallowing ability.”  

       The benefits don’t stop there. Takesian explained that for her students with ADHD, greatly benefit from gum chewing due to the fact that it allows them to do two things at once, by enabling their sensory modalities. Takesian describes this as similar to how students use focus/fidget toys in class while doing work or listening to a lecture to allow those sensory modalities to function and still allow the student to get their work done.

       For Takesian’s students that have ADD, chewing gum allows them to stay alert and “under raz”.

         From a social perspective, Kerry Nolan, Occupational therapist at Beverly Public Schools, explains how chewing gum impacts her students socially.

                “It’s motivating for them to calm down. It obviously helps some kids to focus, but a lot of kids look forward to go to my room and get their work done. I primarily work with kids with behavioral disorders with a variety of different upbringings and I have had several kids come up and hug me and tell me, “it was the best day of their life” for just receiving something as simple as a piece of gum.” Said Nolan

     Sometimes it truly is the simple things in life that have a bigger impact on people’s lives than anticipated, and chewing gum appears to be one.