Have you ever felt too nervous to control your thoughts? Maybe a basketball or football game? The prospect of failure had invaded your mind so much that you couldn't relax... Are you looking for an easy way to ease the tension before that important match for you? Maybe you should try chewing gum.
Possible Benefits of Gum in Sports
In 2011 St. Lawrence University focused on the effects of chewing gum on students' test scores. Psychology associate professor Serge Onyper and a team of student researchers wanted to find out if the act of chewing gum helps improve students' cognitive abilities. In an experiment with nearly 100 students who participated in the study, it was discovered that chewing gum a few minutes before the exam helped students improve their performance.
Another study in a small group in Tokyo suggested that chewing gum increases brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, resulting in better cognitive function and shorter reaction times. Also, chewing gum apparently had a positive effect on a player's movements on the court when it comes to using fast-twitch muscle fibers responsible for increasing a player's speed and vertical jump.
The closer you can get your body and brain to work like a machine while playing, almost numbly, the closer you'll be to being perfect. We all know that players who can play in this way make us feel as if the game we are watching is easy.
Seen by many athletes as an aid to the mental side of the game, the act of chewing gum can help you adjust to all the stress a basketball game can entail. Ultimately, how you deal with different aspects of the game can make the difference between winning or losing a match by just a few points.
The Michael Jordan Effect
Of course, the possible effect of chewing on "cognitive/athletic capacity" isn't the only reason for this craze of chewing gum. There is also the Michael Jordan influence at work. Garrett Temple says:
"The greatest of all time was chewing gum, so this caused other players to start chewing gum as well. Michael Jordan always had a piece of gum in his mouth and always chewed it while he was waiting for a free throw or something. Cameras always showed it. That's why I started chewing too, but then I realized that chewing gum while running around the field takes my breath away more quickly."
Over the last 20 years, although the number of people chewing gum during NBA games has begun to decline, many players still do during warm-ups. Players often say they do this to relieve stress or simply "because they like the taste of chewing gum."
Result
It is premature to say that chewing gum reinforces physical or cognitive activity; There are not enough academic studies to say this clearly. Ultimately, however, it is of paramount importance for athletes to be prepared for competitions mentally as well as physically. For this reason, many athletes seem to think that chewing gum, which is part of their pre-game and during-game rituals, keeps their emotions in check. Or they could all be emulating Michael Jordan. That wouldn't be all that surprising.