"Don't chew gum in class!" How many times have we all heard that while growing up?

In actuality, though, chewing a bit of gum—especially before a big test—may not be such a bad thing.

A new study published in a recent issue of the journal "Appetite" found that students who chewed gum for five minutes before taking a test achieved better marks than those who didn't chew gum.

According to Serge Onyper, the assistant professor of psychology at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. who conducted the study, the boost in academic performance can be attributed to "mastication-induced arousal," which continues for about the first 20 minutes of the test.

He said that, to reap the benefits, students should chew gum for five minutes before a test—but not during the test.

Other studies conducted in the past have shown that physical activity can indeed give a boost to brain performance, but this study shows that even a very minor physical activity like gum chewing has the ability to do so.

In Montclair, though, it appears that different schools have different policies when it comes to the chewing of gum.

At Renaissance Middle School, for example, Principal Jill Sack said that absolutely no gum chewing is allowed in class.

But at Mount Hebron Middle School, Principal Guy Whitlock said that each "house" sets its own policy, with some teachers allowing gum chewing and others not allowing the practice.

Onyper notes that a possible reason the benefits didn’t continue throughout testing may be due to “a sharing of resources by cognitive and masticatory processes.”

In other words, most people can’t do two things at once: chew gum and successfully take a test.

What do you think? Should gum chewing be allowed in the classroom? Let us know in the comments section below.