The Power of Peppermint By Patrick Barrow

Does peppermint candy help a person concentrate? If I give each student a peppermint candy, and ask him or her to take a test under a time limit, he or she may perform better than being without a peppermint candy.

What makes peppermint beneficial? Various studies have shown that peppermint helps a person focus under test taking or any activity requiring concentration. Peppermint has been found to increase alertness and lower stress, which is why many schools have began to give peppermint candy to students during standardized test taking. One notable study in the 1990s by Joel Warm and William Dember, at the University of Cincinnati, found that a whiff of peppermint helped test subjects focus and perform better on tasks that required prolonged concentration (Aratani, 2007). The aroma of peppermint has been found to enhance memory, and cognitive functions, thus making a person more attentive and making fewer errors. Peppermint has a plethora of other benefits to the human body, such as treating digestive issues, respiratory problems, headache, nausea, and fever and various other ailments.

Continued In biological terms, the scent of peppermint increases blood flow, peppermint also stimulates a person’s mind, which can lead to clearer thoughts and better concentration especially under pressure. Peppermint soothes the bowls and clear congestion; all the things need to perform better on a test. The key components in peppermint are methane, which will give a person a “cooling” sensation, and peppermint oil, which helps the bowls and other minor body dysfunctions (Peppermint is Good For You, 2008).

Method and procedures The procedure for the experiment is simple. Subjects will be tested twice once without a peppermint candy and the second time with the peppermint candy. This is to see any differences in performance during the timed test. In the first test, the subjects will be asked to find as many six’s on a random number sheet as they can under the time limit, since the sheet will have over two-hundred numbers between one and nine; it will require heavy concentration and pressure because of a short time limit. After this test, the subjects will go on a short break. The subjects will be given peppermints, which should cool down the subject and help them gain better concentration. This time the number sheet will have a different pattern of numbers, but subjects will have to find the number four under a short time span.

Male vs. Female; teens vs. adults

Overall performance

Data analysis Peppermint does have a positive effect on concentration and reaction time. Females outperformed males by a small margin. After taking in the peppermints, males and females were nearly equal in results. And fully leveled out for adults. Adults did worse than teenagers. The only complications with my date was that many didn’t fill in yes or no to if they had a meal. There were 55 test recipients. Another issue that may have interfered with the data is that test takers improved their method of finding numbers. Instead of going row by row, many scattered their search.

Conclusions Because of the chemical properties on peppermint, there seemed to be an increase in the amount of concentration. Many test takers increased the amount of numbers drastically some increasing by 7. My results proved me right. The performance was increased, and many found more numbers, then before I might include a memory portion and a math portion, to see how much peppermint can aid a person. My data agrees with my original hypotheses, in that It proved peppermint has a strong affect on a persons concentration and reaction time.

Bibliography Aratani, L. (2007, March 20). The Power of Peppermint Is Put to the Test. Retrieved 03 2, 2011, from The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2007/03/19/AR2007031901624.html Madeleine Brand, J. Y. (2007, March 21). School Backs Peppermint for Student Alertness. Retrieved March 1, 2011, from NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90 40969 Peppermint. (2001, April 15). Retrieved March 1, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peppermint&di r=prev&action=history Peppermint is Good For You. (2008, March 21). Retrieved March 1, 2011, from Nutrition Researchers: http://www.nutritionresearchcenter.org/healthnews/pepp ermint-is-good-for-you/