Even as tens of thousands of businesses collapsed during the Great Depression, William Wrigley Jr. kept making money. “I think people chew harder when they’re sad,” said Wrigley, who built an empire of chewing gum brands like Juicy Fruit and Spearmint.

In the 20th century, many people chewed gum to freshen their breath. Chewing gum also promised to calm people down. ‘ It calms the mind ,’ a 1918 Wrigley’s ad said.

Companies are now trying to promote chewing gum. And , this marketing strategy seems to be back on track. People had stopped chewing for the past five years. During the Covid pandemic, chewing gum sales plummeted. In the US, they fell by almost a – third. Classic brands like Fruit Strips stopped producing them altogether. To boost this declining business, gum companies are once again presenting gum as a calming thing. New ads will urge people to keep chewing despite problems. Or , gum will claim to eliminate negative emotions.

Wrigley was a marketing expert. His marketing formula was not based on established science. But , some of the claims he made at the time are still true today.

Scientists who have researched the mental effects of chewing gum say that it helps you focus. They also say that regular gum chewers reduce stress.

Although chewing gum tastes sweet, it has no nutritional value. And , people continue to chew it even after the taste has worn off.

People have been chewing gum for thousands of years. And , This practice is common in many cultures around the world.  The oldest chewing gum ever found was made from birch bark found in Scandinavia about 8,000 years ago. According to researchers, hunter-gatherers there chewed the gum to make glue for their tools. But teeth stains found on the gum indicate that children as young as 5 years old chewed the gum. This means that it was chewed not only to make glue for tools, but also for fun. The ancient Greeks , Native Americans and the Mayans also chewed the sticky fibrous material , that comes from various trees , , such as the sap of the sapodilla tree , . Modern chewing gum was invented in the United States in the 1850s. At that time, the exiled Mexican President Antonio Lopez had given a New York inventor the sap of the sapodilla tree (the main ingredient in chewing gum). The inventor's initial goal was to make it as a substitute for rubber. But , The alternative rubber thus prepared worked. He then made chewing gum from it. It was Wrigley who established the chewing gum trend in America. He initially sold soap and baking soda. He began giving away chewing gum to those who bought those products. But

, By the 1890s, he realized that people were more attracted to chewing gum than to other products. He then started a full-fledged chewing gum business. By the early 20th century, chewing gum was extremely popular. Newspapers like the New York Times were already writing articles expressing concern about the effects. Articles promoting chewing gum were also being published. Kerry Seagram’s book

‘ Chewing Gum in America 1850 – 1920: The Rise of an Industry ’

mentions an article published in 1916. ‘ Are you worried ? Chew gum ,’ The article says ,’ Can’t sleep at night. Chew gum. Are you depressed ? ‘ Is the world against you ? Chew gum. ’ 1934 – In 1946, New York City Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia had to ask various companies to help clean up chewing gum from the streets. In the 1940s, a four-year study by Barnard College showed that people who chewed gum were less stressed, but the lead researcher couldn’t explain how. In 2006, the Wrigley Company founded the Wrigley Science Institute. It began funding and supporting researchers and PhD students to study the benefits of gum. They worked in their own labs and published papers in the journal Science. Andrew Smith, a psychologist at Cardiff University, has been studying gum for nearly 15 years,

, , during which he also sought help from the Wrigley Institute. What are the benefits of chewing gum?

What happens inside the brain when you chew gum? Researchers at the University of Zucin in Poland studied this in 2025. The study was conducted using MRI ,

EEG and infrared spectroscopy. According to scientists, chewing gum activates the muscles involved in it and higher-level parts of the brain associated with attention , alertness and emotional control. EEG studies have shown small changes in brain wave patterns.

Chewing gum is good for long-term work. It helps maintain concentration to some extent.  

, , , People who chew gum have reported feeling less anxious or restless than those who do not chew gum, such as when they have to speak in public, , These effects are usually only seen for a short time and disappear quickly after you stop chewing the gum. Gum can help those who have a desire to make small,