A lot of schools in the Bay Area don’t let kids chew gum on school grounds. The NDB Student Handbook for 2024–2025 says, “Chewing gum is not permitted.” (page 44) But why is this rule in place, and do NDB students really need to follow it?
There are a lot of students who chew gum to stay awake and active in class. An investigation by the National Institutes of Health found that chewing gum makes you more aware and smarter.
The study also found that chewing gum in the morning was linked to efficiency and greatly decreased the number of cognitive mistakes people made.
It can be loud and distracting to chew gum in class, and it gets sticky very fast. Gum that has been chewed can quickly become a mess to clean up when it gets stuck under chairs or on the ground.
Bubbles or gum can also become more of a distraction for many students than a way to concentrate.
It’s scary that eating gum can lead to more problems than most people think. Health.clevelandclinic.org says that eating gum all the time puts a lot of stress on the muscles, joints, and teeth in the jaw.
Too much chewing can even lead to headaches, jaw pain, popping in the jaw joints, and in the worst cases, broken teeth. Even though these effects don’t happen very often, you should remember that gum can be bad for your health.
People who chew gum a lot could chew it while learning at home instead of in class to help them remember things and concentrate.
Or, to follow the rules, students can use gum instead of mints while still getting a sweet treat to stay alert and focused. You could also chew ice or eat other sweets instead, and all of these are offered at the Tiger Cafe.
It is important to keep NDB’s grounds clean, both to help the environment and to cut down on the amount of cleaning that needs to be done by staff.
The ban might not be needed if students can chew gum in class without making a mess and properly throw it away when they’re done. But while the ban is in place, kids should eat candy, mints, or something else instead.
Being aware of your jaw and tooth health and making sure that eating gum doesn’t get in the way of class could help you do better in school and relax.
Anyhow, maybe one day the gum ban could be lifted if students can show that they can chew gum and keep the school clean at the same time. It’s possible that the ban will stay in place until then to protect NDB’s campus and the environment.
