Ancient Habit with Modern Science: How Chewing Gum Affects the Brain

Humans have been chewing gum for thousands of years — long after the flavor fades and without any clear nutritional benefit, a practice that dates back at least 8,000 years to Scandinavia. Early humans chewed birch bark pitch to soften it into a glue for tools, while ancient Greeks, Native Americans and the Maya chewed tree resins for both pleasure and their soothing effects, according to a recent National Geographic report.

The transformation of gum from an occasional habit to a mass consumer product can be credited to William Wrigley Jr., who in the late 19th and early 20th centuries revolutionized the industry through aggressive and innovative marketing. His iconic brands, including Juicy Fruit and Spearmint, positioned gum as a solution for various everyday problems.

“Are you worried? Chew gum,” suggested an article from 1916, according to Kerry Segrave’s book “Chewing Gum in America, 1850-1920: The Rise of an Industry.” It continued, “Do you lie awake at night? Chew gum. Are you depressed? Is the world against you? Chew gum.”

Early scientific validation came in the 1940s when a study found chewing resulted in lower tension levels, though researchers couldn’t explain why. The New York Times reported at the time that “the gum-chewer relaxes and gets more work done,” establishing gum as an early form of wellness product.

As gum sales have declined in recent years, companies are attempting to revitalize these wellness claims. But only now are scientists beginning to understand the biological mechanisms behind the long-standing beliefs about gum’s effects on focus and stress.

The Science Behind the Chew

A comprehensive 2025 review by researchers at the University of Szczecin in Poland has shed new light on what happens inside the brain when people chew gum. The scientists analyzed more than three decades of brain-imaging studies using MRI, EEG, and near-infrared spectroscopy to examine the neurological effects of gum chewing.

Their findings reveal that chewing alters brain activity in regions tied to movement, attention, and stress regulation. Chewing gum activates not only the brain’s motor and sensory networks involved in the physical act of chewing but also higher-order regions linked to attention, alertness, and emotional control.

EEG studies documented brief shifts in brain-wave patterns linked to heightened alertness and what researchers call “relaxed concentration,” helping explain why the seemingly pointless act of chewing can feel calming or focusing even after flavor has disappeared.

“If you’re doing a fairly boring task for a long time, chewing seems to be able to help with concentration,” Crystal Haskell-Ramsay, a professor of biological psychology at Northumbria University, told National Geographic.

Stress Relief with Limitations

The review also supports earlier findings that gum chewing can ease stress, but with important limitations. Laboratory experiments showed people who chewed gum during mildly stressful tasks such as public speaking or mental math often reported lower anxiety levels than non-chewers.

However, these calming effects weren’t universal. Chewing gum did not consistently reduce anxiety in high-stress medical situations, such as immediately before surgery. It also offered no clear benefit when participants faced unsolvable problems specifically designed to induce frustration.

Some experts suspect that gum may simply provide an outlet for the natural desire to fidget, offering a socially acceptable way to release nervous energy.

Cognitive Effects Less Clear

Despite industry claims about improved memory and focus, the scientific evidence is mixed. Across multiple studies, people who chewed gum did not remember lists of words or stories better than those who didn’t, researchers found. Additionally, any boost in attention typically faded soon after chewing stopped.

“Although these effects are often short-lived, the range of outcomes… underscores chewing gum’s capacity to modulate brain function beyond simple oral motor control,” the researchers wrote. “However, at this time, the neural changes associated with gum chewing cannot be directly linked to the positive behavioral and functional outcomes observed in studies.”

The scientists recommend future research address longer-term impacts, isolate variables like flavor or stress, and explore potential therapeutic applications.

Health Considerations

While the cognitive and emotional effects of gum chewing continue to be studied, dental health experts caution that excessive gum chewing comes with its own considerations. Though sugar-free gum may help reduce cavities by stimulating saliva production, dentists warn that acids, artificial sweeteners and excessive chewing can potentially harm teeth or trigger other side effects in some individuals.

As science continues to explore this ancient habit through modern technology, the humble act of chewing gum reveals itself to be more complex than previously understood—influencing brain function in subtle ways that ancient gum chewers might have intuitively recognized thousands of years ago.