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Effect of chewing hard material on enhancing cognitive function
- metalman 2y ago"hard material" think of the wreck and ruin, if it realy works it will be possible to detect proximity to the "better" educational institutions just from the amount of gnaw marks
- tdeck 2y agoTl;dr: Chewing pencils is more powerful than chewing gum.
- readthenotes1 2y agoI can't wait for replication! "Chewing diamonds increased memory assessment scores over chewing sticks"
- triceratops 2y agoMore fiber but watch out for lead poisoning /s just in case it needed to be spelled out
- tdeck 2y agoSplinters can't be pleasant either.
- pingou 2y agoPerhaps drinking soylent didn't improve my productivity after all.
- ecolonsmak 2y agoHuh, are there speciality chewing sticks purpose made for this?
- agumonkey 2y agoI know that there are hard rubber like material that were made to strengthen jaw muscles. Licorice sticks might be used too.
- cenamus 2y agoI personally use turkish falim gum, you can get it basically without flavor, it's pretty hard and you can chew on it for >1h without it tasting weird
- agumonkey 2y agovery nice, i didn't know about it, thanks
- glompers 2y agoglycyrrhizic acid in licorice can drop your blood potassium level and cause cardiac arrhythmia, however, as well as commonly raising blood pressure [1] [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6836258/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6836258/
- agumonkey 2y agook my bad, I thought it was mostly harmless. editing.
- tiahura 2y agoDoesn't licorice lower intelligence?
- agumonkey 2y agops: apparently licorice can cause harm
- The28thDuck 2y agoI want to say that it’s not a linear relationship between hardness and cognitive function. There’s something about putting effort into biting something and it “giving” that, to me, makes this super satisfying and kinda puts me into a flow in a way. The tactical feedback is important. Maybe I’m just weird. :)
- bob1029 2y agoThe term for this in the food business is "mouthfeel". It is a gigantic part of their R&D process. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_rheology#Psychorheology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_rheology#Psychorheology
- nadavwr 2y agoI wonder if this offers one explanation for nail biting
- nelblu 2y agohaha i was wondering the same. I hate my nail biting habit and there are few days where i can go without it and then it comes back and stays.
- virgil_disgr4ce 2y agoI assume this will turn into some kind of insane tiktok "life hack" trend that makes increasingly outrageous and false claims, and then in a couple months dentists will see their revenues jump.
- calmbonsai 2y agoI recall a trend for Wall Street traders to "chew on ice" a few years ago. I believe it originated with Julian Robertson of the Tiger hedge fund.
- bluedino 2y agoI used to always chew on a scrap piece of CAT5 when doing cabling etc
- OutOfHere 2y agoIntaking plastics, even a little bit, doesn't sound very wise, so we'll have to find us something else to chew.
- jhayward 2y agoAs someone who's spouse is currently in their 3rd year of rehabilitation after TMJ (tempo-mandibular joint) reconstruction, let me warn you against any kind of chewing activity that involves either high direct pressures (ice, hard things that "crack", anything that resists biting down very much), or strong lateral forces (bagels, pizza crust). We're about $60K in to her treatment. She's had the meniscus of the joints on both sides of her jaw surgically repaired and now is undergoing orthodontia to permit her jaw to safely re-align. This after a year of excruciating pain (the TMJ was bone to bone contact), and a year of painful muscular rehab. Unless you are a maxillofacial surgeon or perhaps a particular specialty of orthodontia you are probably unaware of just how many muscles in the head have to re-learn how to work after TMJ problems. The "straw that broke the camel's back" in her case? A pistachio nut.
- parasti 2y agoI used to buy a pack of cashew nuts every day during lunchtime. One day I realized my jaw has started making a clicking sound and the muscle feels kinda loose. That was ten years ago; it's gotten somewhat better and I also learned to avoid that particular motion but never recovered.
- freedomben 2y agoSame, I have severe TMJ and there's never really any recovery. Just learn to chew a very specific way to avoid inflaming it. Absolutely miserable
- stavros 2y agoI don't understand, what did the cashews do? They're pretty soft, no?
- parasti 2y agoIt's the constant chewing that did me in.
- 2y ago
- austin-cheney 2y ago> However, the mechanisms linking cerebral blood flow increase to metabolic changes in the brain affecting cognition remain unclear. Stanford research published after that article provides that answer: Face shape. It's not just better cognitive performance but the alternative contributes to face shape commonly perceived as "not beautiful". The Stanford research, and no I don't have a link, concludes there are two activities responsible for these traits: slurping soft foods and mouth breathing. The alternative to chewing hard foods is slurping soft foods and the frequent activity of slurping alters the shape of a person's face as they grow because humans were really only designed to consistently slurp soft foods in infancy, but the shape of the face will elongate to compensate for slurping along with inferior jaw bone strength. The alternative to nose breathing is mouth breathing, which drastically lowers oxygen intake which mimics and contributes to sleep apnea like conditions even while awake. There is a measured cognitive decline associated with the degree of oxygen suppressed in air intake. Mouth breathing also negatively contributes to developmental face shape, but less so than slurping soft foods.
- msie 2y agoI don't get why mouth-breathing drastically lowers oxygen intake.
- VOIPThrowaway 2y agoAs I understand it, when exhaling, the nose create backpressure that facilitates gas transfer in the lungs. However, my nose is decorative, and I must breath though my mouth. No repercussions as I can mountain climb.
- TeMPOraL 2y agoMakes no sense - I'd expect the opposite, given how easier it is to breathe in and out larger volume of air through the mouth than through the nose.
- austin-cheney 2y agoWhy? Internally to the face the nasal cavity is massive and largely not restricted, especially compared to the throat (pharynx) which is restricted and can accept only small volumes of air at a time. Because of that the body must work substantially harder to permit large air volumes through mouth breathing. Just search google images for "pharynx". The visual difference in size is striking.
- marstall 2y agofirst thing that came to mind is toothpicks. wonder if that's where the idea for the study came from. There was a time when men always had a toothpick in their mouth. Guess there was something to it! Seems like the simplest way to "try" this technique as it's certainly tested - or are their health risks for chewing on a toothpick?
- mystified5016 2y agoDon't swallow it. Your digestive system can't really break down wood. Small particles will pass through, but you definitely do not want a punctured intestine.
- galaxyLogic 2y agoHow about chewing gum? Especially chewing Xylitol chewing gum. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-996/xylitol https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-996/xylitol
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- devmor 2y agoThat is covered in the linked article.
- spudlyo 2y agoI do some language learning study at roughly the same time every morning with gum. I spike it with 1mg dose of Nicorette (which I get by cutting a 4mg square into quarters) for its well documented effects on learning and cognition. It hadn't ocured to me that chewing might have a benefit as well. As a former smoker, I'm well aware of how addictive nicotine is, so I'm careful.
- tiahura 2y agoDo not binge Xylitol on an empty stomach.
- MrMcCall 2y agoIn Turkiye, they have unflavored gum. I couldn't believe it! Now I know, now I know. Interesting new fact of the day. I wonder how it affects the teeth? Perhaps it helps strengthen them. Perhaps it wears them down more quickly. I couldn't hazard a guess. [ETA: After reading about the TMJ elsehere, it looks like that mandibular joint is of greater concern. Gotta be careful with that wear-and-tear.]
- bookofjoe 2y agoUnflavored chewing gum: https://www.amazon.com/Falim-Sugarless-Plain-Pack-Pieces/dp/B000RKU2QU/ref=asc_df_B000RKU2QU?mcid=9f73e591862137e7905682221815128b&hvocijid=10638908196359671342-B000RKU2QU-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=730434177080&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10638908196359671342&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9008335&hvtargid=pla-2281435178818&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/Falim-Sugarless-Plain-Pack-Pieces/dp/... https://www.ebay.com/itm/186114277099?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&google_free_listing_action=view_item&srsltid=AfmBOorHYJDF3biTAutK6R_yOrSkukxm1ve2uCApiJ9hAX9ESNUkoeSNT2k&com_cvv=8fb3d522dc163aeadb66e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c https://www.ebay.com/itm/186114277099?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=2...
- zwieback 2y agoHaribo
- euroderf 2y agoI cannot eat goop and glop in the morning. I need to chew. It makes my brain work better.
- loco5niner 2y agoPlease also include the effect decades later after extensive dental work.
- hosteur 2y agoWhy would using your teeth for their primary purpose require extensive dental work?
- loco5niner 2y agoThe primary purpose of human teeth is not to chew on wood sticks for 5 minutes straight. Of course, on the internet no one knows if you're a panda. From the study: > In the wood-chewing group, changes in GSH concentrations demonstrated a positive correlation with immediate memory (r = 0.520, p = 0.008) and story memory (r = 0.439, p = 0.028) scores (Figure 3). However, no significant correlations were observed in the gum-chewing group.
- 0x000042 2y agoThe primary purpose of teeth is to chew food. Including moderately hard materials such as roots, etc. I am not convinced that chewing on wood sticks for a few minutes will require dental work at all. Much less extensive dental work. Why do you think it would require extensive dental work?
- loco5niner 2y agoPartly because my job requires more than 5 minutes of thinking, and partly because my dentist just told my I have a hairline fracture on one of my molars that might require a crown just a few months after having similar work done on another molar. It's been on my mind. > The primary purpose of teeth is to chew food. Including moderately hard materials such as roots, etc. Roots like carrots? Sure! In fact, I'm inclined to think it's unhealthy to just eat soft foods. Roots like a stick? Our teeth were not designed for that. Fun fact, beavers incisors keep growing their whole life. Not mine though. Also, excessive chewing can lead to TMJ issues.
- karmakaze 2y agoI kept a platter pack of almonds by my desk. I had to stop because it was starting to make me feel ill. There's no poison risk AFAIK from store bought almonds which are the sweet (not bitter) variety.
- OutOfHere 2y agoRoasted almonds are more tolerable than raw. Raw walnuts are great too. Baru nuts can also be added to the mix.