Chew and be more quick-witted in the brain! That was the message from a famous scientific study from 2013. Scientists investigated what happens in the brain when chewing. They noticed that the subjects reacted faster. Therefore, they put forward the hypothesis that chewing increases the speed of the head. While the subjects reacted faster, their blood flow in the brain increased. Especially in the parts that control motor capability. That would mean that we would react a little faster if we chew at the same time.
From Effects-of-chewing-on-cognitive-processing-speed
The 2013 study was the start of a wide range of scientific studies of the brain and chewing. The Stroop test is a psychological tool used to measure brain speed and flexibility. The test involves assessing whether a word is the same color as it says in another word. For example, it can say RED:BLUE and then you should press no. But if it says RED:BLUE, you should press yes. A shorter reaction time indicates higher performance. Chewing seems to improve results even on the Stroop test according to another study. This may be because the relevant part of the brain receives more oxygen: the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) which mainly affects the result. The research’s preliminary hypothesis is this: Chewing increases blood flow that increases oxygenation that shortens the reaction time.
JAW PEER made me more quick-witted
Coincidentally, I noticed how my own reaction time was affected when I chewed. I train the brain’s various functions with an app called Lumosity (recommended). The app includes various games that train working speed, logical thinking, attention, memory, problem solving, flexibility etc. The Stroop test is also included. One day when I was practicing Lumosity, I was chewing on my jaw coach at the same time. I noticed that I started chewing more intensely when I got stressed out. Suddenly I set new records in all games that required quick reactions. It made me think: If I get more quick-witted by chewing, so can others. This led me to start developing new functional chewing products. Now you can also try if chew peer makes you more quick-witted.