Chewing gum might wake you up – a new study finds that chomping on some gum increases alertness by ten-percent. For the study, researchers scanned the brains of people who chewed gum and those that did not. Participants also performed a 30-minute test where they would press a button with their left or right thumb in response to the direction of an arrow. Gum chewers were found to have a faster response time to the button-test than non-gum-chewers. One study author said, “Our results suggest that chewing induced an increase in the arousal level and alertness in addition to an effect on motor control.” (Opposing Views)
