9-5 Energy Hack Series: The Peppermint Performance Boost

⭐ Key Points

• Peppermint gum specifically improves cognitive speed compared to fruit-flavored gum and no gum

• The menthol activates your body's natural alertness system within minutes

• Perfect for rapid decision-making, data analysis, and staying sharp during long meetings

📊 Research

Key finding: A controlled study at Whitworth University with 22 undergraduate students found that chewing peppermint gum specifically "only improved Stroop test speed" compared to fruit-flavored gum and no gum conditions (Holling et al., 2018). The researchers concluded that "peppermint gum appeared to increase alertness in participants, which allowed participants to recognize the color of the font more efficiently." Additionally, a study with medical students found that "peppermint gum was found to be more beneficial than normal gum" for maintaining attention and cognitive performance during stressful work scenarios (Gandhi & Siddiqui, 2019).

How this translates: When you're processing complex information, making quick decisions, or need faster cognitive responses at work, peppermint gum gives you a measurable advantage over other gum flavors or no gum at all. The menthol specifically enhances alertness and cognitive processing speed - perfect for when you need to rapidly analyze data, respond to emails, or stay sharp during lengthy meetings. Instead of relying on caffeine crashes, peppermint gum provides sustained cognitive enhancement.

☕️ Storytime

Time traveling back to high school, I signed up for AP Psychology thinking I would learn how to read people’s minds and become some sort of telepath. On the first day of class the teacher mentioned that the majority, if not all of us, signed up for that exact reason, but we wouldn’t touch those chapters until after the AP exam. I was crushed, and honestly I didn’t find much of the topics covered to interest me, but I did remember one that I thought was interesting, the connection between your nose and your memory.

Research shows that scents have a unique pathway to memory and emotion. Unlike other senses, scents directly access the brain's limbic system (our emotional and memory center), which is why certain smells can instantly transport you back to specific moments or feelings.

I applied this concept when it came to studying for AP World History. Every class, there was a quiz on the chapter we all read, and as a high-schooler I could not find any of that stuff interesting to me either, but if there was a chance to retain even just 5% more information I was willing to try it. I did try chewing the same flavor of gum when I read the textbook the night before I inevitably got that 7 out of 10 on the quiz.

Long story short, I can’t say that it worked, if anything it just reminded me of how bored I felt reading the textbook the night before. Fast forward to a few years ago, I came across a somewhat related article on how peppermint is known for many benefits: deterring bugs/rodents (via candles/sprays), improving digestion (via tea) and improving cognitive performance (via gum/oil diffuser).

I always keep a pack of some flavor of mint gum in my desk and when I had the peppermint flavor, I found myself gravitating towards chewing more gum when work got busy compared to spearmint or other flavors. I could have a subconscious preference towards peppermint, but I felt like I would get mini boosts in focus, like consuming one of those mushrooms in Mario Kart. It’s not going to feel like the gold star (which you would get from coffee) but for me (even if it’s placebo) I found it to keep me going on those longer days.

At the end of the day, it’s no magical key to unlocking performance, but if you’re like me who enjoys gum, now you know that peppermint flavored gum could actually help you work ever so slightly more productively.

References

Holling, L., Fok, D., Massad, M., Page, J. D., & Silvers, W. M. (2018). Effects of peppermint and fruit flavored chewing gum on heart rate, cognitive speed, and accuracy. International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings, 8(6), 37.

Gandhi, P. P., & Siddiqui, R. A. (2019). Effects of peppermint, chewing gum on memory, cognition, alertness, reaction time, arithmetic skills and athletic performance during laboratory induced stress in undergraduate medical students. International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, 8(6), 1254–1261.

🙂 Know a friend who’s always chewing gum? Share this with them! I bet they’ll feel validated for their gum addiction!