Chewing Gum Boosts Productivity

Gum may be a pain to remove from floors and clothing, but it appears to offer excellent benefits while on the job. A 40-person study, presented in September 2008 to the 10th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine, revealed that chewing gum may help relieve anxiety, improve alertness and reduce stress. Andrew Scholey, Ph.D., professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia, found that chewing gum not only relieved anxiety while working, but also helped participants experience higher levels of alertness and reduced stress. Chewing gum while multi-tasking resulted in a significant improvement in overall performance over non-gum chewers. The only rule: Chew quietly or you may cause your coworkers' anxiety levels to increase.