The explanations for this phenomenon are not entirely clear, but some researchers speculate that chewing gum may increase activity in the hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with memory and attention. Another study found that a brief burst of gum chewing right before a test led to a 15- to 20-minute window where participants were able to remember 25 to 50 percent more than their non-chewing counterparts. Again, the exact reasons are still unknown, but the study’s authors suggested a theory that they refer to as “mastication-induced arousal.” In other words, chewing gum leads to arousal and increases blood supply to the brain. This leads to a brief brain boost that results in better test performance So will wiggling your eyes back-and-forth help you with those moments of daily forgetfulness? While the researchers are not yet sure, they suggest that it certainly won’t hurt. Experts have long known that sleep plays an important role in memory. One of the top explanations for why we sleep is that our nightly slumber is required for memory consolidation and brain cleanup. Researchers have also found that sleeping right after you learn something might play an important role in memory. In lab experiments, mice who slept immediately after a learning task experienced greater dendritic growth in key areas of the brain than did mice who were sleep-deprived. So if you need an excuse for a quick nap, just explain that you are trying to improve your memory. Why would such body movements lead to better recall? Explanations are far from clear, but the odd trick might work because clenching your fist activates certain areas of the brain. In the study, researchers had participants grip a small ball for 45 seconds with their right hand before memorizing a word list. The participants then gripped the ball with their left hand as they wrote down as many of the words that they could remember. Other groups of participants followed the reverse procedure or only held a ball loosely. Those who had begun by gripping with their right and then switching to their left hand performed better on the memory tasks than those in the other groups. While experts caution that more research is needed, they suggest that trying this simple memory hack won’t hurt and might even help. In one study, researchers from UCLA found that students who write class notes by hand learn more than those who type their notes on laptops. Not surprisingly, the laptop users were able to take more notes than the hand writers, yet the experimenters found that those who typed had a weaker memory and understanding of the study material. Handwriting might be slower and more laborious, but when it comes to memory, it seems that slow and steady is what wins the race.
