Chewing and attention: a positive effect on sustained attention

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Chewing aids digestion and stress relief.
• Chewing gum is commonly used to combat sleepiness and maintain attention during demanding tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the effects of chewing on attention and cognitive performance.
• To investigate if chewing elevates attention and/or alertness, leading to improved cognitive outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of the PubMed database.
• Inclusion of studies with pre-post design in healthy subjects (excluding elderly) investigating chewing's effects on attention or alertness.
• Analysis of 22 selected studies from 151 identified references.

Main Results:

• Over half (64%) of the included studies reported positive effects of chewing on attention.
• Positive effects were particularly noted for sustained attention.
• Chewing also showed benefits for mood improvement and stress relief, influenced by time-on-task.

Conclusions:

• Chewing demonstrates positive attributes for enhancing attention, especially sustained attention.
• The findings suggest chewing can be a useful, non-pharmacological strategy for cognitive modification.
• Further research is warranted to fully elucidate the mechanisms and applications of chewing for cognitive enhancement.