Some psychological experiments are really weird. This is the case of a study developed by Andrew Smith, a professor at Cardiff University, which confirms that chewing gum can act as a protector in the face of stress.
To reach this conclusion, Smith interviewed 2 workers and observed that 39% of those who said they had never chewed gum reported a level of stress twice that of their peers. Continuing with the statistical correlations, Smith came across some quite divergent results: People who showed a tendency to chew gum were also the youngest, least paid, lower educated, and neurotic prone. How is it possible that these people suffer from less stress? Perhaps the people who are exposed to a greater amount of stressors are those who tend to consume more gum in an unconscious attempt to relieve their tension. As the study progresses, other interesting findings appear: people who used to chew gum also showed a lower tendency to be depressed and had better cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Faced with so much data that put the aforementioned product in good light, Smith concluded that chewing gum is an inexpensive and easy way to combat stress. The reason for this salutary effect could lie in the activity that the autonomic nervous system performs during continuous chewing which could activate the neurotransmission patterns of serotonin (the main inhibitor of anger and mood). Personally, chewing gum causes some pain in my hands, plus I've never had this habit, but while chewing gum regularly can have these effects, so be it. But be careful to chew only sugar-free gum otherwise you could cause enormous damage to your teeth as well as contribute to the onset of diabetes.
