Gum Chewing May Improve Concentration

Gum Chewing May Improve Concentration
嚼口香糖可以改善注意力
Teachers might want to think twice about posting no gum-chewing signs in the classroom. It turns out that the sticky substance might help students concentrate.
老师们可能需要三思了，当他们在教室张贴不准嚼口香糖的标志时。事实证明，这种粘粘的东西可以帮助学生集中注意力。
Researchers had two groups of 20 people each listen to a 30-minute recording that included a sequence of numbers. After listening, the participants were asked to remember the sequence. But only one groups chewed gum—and they had higher accuracy rates and faster reaction times than the non-gum chewers. Those chewing gum also maintained focus longer during the exercise. The study is in the British Journal of Psychology—and contradicts a 2012 study that found gum chewing decreased short-term memory performance. [Kate Morgan, Andrew J. Johnson and Christopher Miles, Chewing gum moderates the vigilance decrement]
研究人员让20个人的两组实验对象听30分钟录音，内容是一系列数字。听完之后，参与者回忆听到的数字。但是只有嚼口香糖的一组——他们的回答准确率更大，而且比不嚼口香糖的人反应时间更快。这些嚼口香糖的人在整个练习过程中一直保持者注意力。这项研究发表在British Journal of Psychology—and contradicts a 2012 study that found gum chewing decreased short-term memory performance. [Kate Morgan, Andrew J. Johnson and Christopher Miles, Chewing gum moderates the vigilance decrement]
The researchers say that gum increases the flow of oxygen to regions of the brain responsible for attention. More oxygen can keep people alert and improve their reflexes. Research also shows that you won’t get the same effect by just pretending to chew gum.
研究人员表示，口香糖可以促进氧气向大脑的反应区域流动。更多的氧气可以使人们保持警觉并且改善反应能力。研究人员还证明，假装嚼口香糖并不会有同样的效果。
So the next time your mind is wandering in class, maybe try some gum. If it doesn’t help you concentrate you’ll at least be asked to leave.
所以下次当你走神的时候，你也许需要吃点口香糖。如果它不能帮你集中注意力，你还是离开吧。