Chewing a gum could come in the way of your memory, says a new British study. People who chew gum were found to struggle in recalling the lists of numbers and letters in the study conducted by researchers from Cardiff University, UK. Those who avoided this habit were better off in recalling the same.
The researchers feel that when a person chews, he distracts the mind from concentrating fully on memorising serial lists. It is much like the distraction that tapping of finger or foot causes. Continually moving the mouth can similarly interfere with the mind’s ability to memorise. The study even questioned the popularly believed notion that chewing gum till it has the flavour intact enhances the brain’s ability.
Some health experts see this report as a thumbs down to the idea of multitasking. It suggests that an individual cannot multitask without compromising efficiency. Refuting the earlier reports which argued that chewing a gum increases the blood flow to the brain leading to improved concentration; lead author of the study, Michail Kozlov of Cardiff University said that the interference of the chewing motion with mental ability makes it hard to recall verbal content. They arrived at this conclusion by studying their subjects performing certain tasks, while chewing and not chewing a gum alternatively.