Stress & Tension

In 1939, research by an American psychologist, Dr Harry Levi Hollingworth of Columbia University in New York, found that chewing can help to relaxe people while they are working. In his study, The Psycho-Dynamics of Chewing, Dr Hollingworth showed that chewing helps to reduce muscular tension and helps people feel more at ease.^*1

More recently, research has shown that chewing gum stimulates certain areas of the brain (as measured by electroencephalogram [EEG]). Research has shown that sensory stimulation of taste and smell possess properties that influence brain function during chewing gum - above and beyond the act of chewing itself.^*2

A panel of psychiatrists and psychologists quoted by historian Robert Hendrickson in The Great American Gum Book 4 suggests three reasons why people chew gum. These are:

• To relieve feelings of loneliness and boredom
• Relief from tension by discharging nervous energy
• To provide a quick, socially acceptable outlet for anger and irritation

^*1 (Hollingworth, HL (1939): Chewing as a technique of relaxation, Science, 90: 385-387).

^*2 (Morinushi, T; Masumoto, Y; Kawasaki, H; Takigawa, M (2000): Effect on electroencephalogram (EEG) of chewing flavoured gum. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 54(6) 645 - 651).