Chewing Gum Can Make Your Walk Faster And More Efficient

Did you know that eating sugar-free chewing gum can help if you’re struggling with constipation?

Yep – doctors say the process “tricks your body into thinking it’s eating,” which helps to get things moving again.

Speaking of moving, chewing gum might have another purpose, too. Some research has found it could help to make our walks faster and more efficient.

A 2018 paper found that, compared to those who didn’t chew gum, people who tried the minty method while walking had higher heart rates, burned more energy, walked further, and strolled faster.

These results seemed especially strong among middle-aged and older people (men, in particular).

We don’t know exactly why chewing gum seemed to speed up people’s pace.

But the researchers wrote, “one possible mechanism is cardiac-locomotor synchronisation (CLS) or cardiac-locomotor coupling”.

CLS happens when a person’s heartbeat thumps in time with their steps, and vice versa. It’s a phenomenon which seems to be stronger in middle-aged and older people.

“Gum chewing increased the heart rate, and CLS possibly led to increases in the physical functions of walking distance and steps,” the study authors said.

A separate 2019 study found that people who chewed gum faster seemed to walk more quickly, too, “with increases or decreases in a person’s chewing rate leading to similar changes in their stepping rate (and hence walking speed)”.

They said that this change may happen as “the neural drive related to chewing entrains the muscles involved in the basic gait action of stepping”.

Yes. If you want to walk more quickly, swinging your arms seems to help, too.

Milica McDowell, a physical therapist and author of Walk: Rediscover the Most Natural Way to Boost Your Health and Longevity – One Step at a Time, told TIME that the movement turns your torso, bringing the rest of the body along with it.

“The arms are sort of like the conductor – they lead the rest of the coordination,” she said.