How to Easily Improve Focus and Concentration

What are the first things that come to mind when trying to improve your focus or concentration?

Coffee?

Energy drinks?

Something with a lot of sugar?

While all of these are good choices , I discovered another interesting option that works.

…and works very well.

Without trying, I noticed something interesting the other day.

I’m a fanatic of both basketball and success.

I like to learn from the best by studying their habits, work ethic, and success principles.

Reading biographies or watching documentaries is something else I enjoy.

I wrote an article on work ethic and how NBA player Kobe Bryant used it to become one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Success doesn’t happen by accident, it’s happens through patience and repeating certain habits over and over.

I was watching a documentary on Michael Jordan the other night and something stood out to me.

Michael Jordan chewed bubblegum in every game!

Big deal? Maybe not.

Maybe the man just really enjoyed his bubblelicious.

…but something told me not to overlook it.

Being the intrigued and curious person I am, I decided to do research and discovered something great.

Michael Jordan chewed bubblegum in games because he heard it increased focus and concentration.

Since his sources of information weren’t disclosed, I did additional research.

And guess what?

It turned out to be true!

Chewing bubblegum increases focus and concentration!

Who would have thought, huh?

How It Works

The first thing I thought was…

“Well yeah, it’s probably because of the sugar in gum that people get their boost of focus and concentration”.

Sugar = Energy Spike

Turns out this wasn’t the case.

There were studies performed were people were given both regular and sugar free gum.

Both experienced the same increase in focus and concentration.

There are regions in the brain responsible for attention.

Chewing gum increases the flow of oxygen to these areas.

According to this article, two groups were issued a 30 minute recording which contained a sequence of numbers.

The participants were then asked to repeat as much as they could remember.

Interesting enough, the group who chewed gum experienced an increase in their accuracy and reaction time.

They were able to maintain focus for longer periods of time than the group without gum.

Increases in oxygen help keep people alert and also improves their reflexes.

I would have NEVER thought that chewing gum can have such a positive effect.

So next time you’re studying, working out, or doing anything that requires your focus and attention, try chewing gum.

-Alex