[CQ-Contest] Secrets of Contesting, Chapter One

[Ragnar Otterstad]

So Jim, you are a major shareholder in Wrigley's??   HI   Could not resist it!

73  Rag LA5HE

SECRETS OF CONTESTING, CH. ONE

 

IT HAS BEEN PROVEN that the simple act of CHEWING GUM will improve your
short- and long-term memory by up to 35 percent!  It is believed that the
gentle exercise of chewing may be enough to raise a person's heart rate and
increase the flow of oxygen to the brain.

Chewing may also trigger the release of insulin in the body, which could
increase the uptake of blood sugar by the brain.  It is firmly believed that
it is nothing IN the gum, but rather that the act of mastication (repeat,
mastication) that is making the difference.

Simply, if you chew gum, you will observe an increase in your heart rate of
five to six beats per minute.  This may be unrelated to brain function, but
on the other hand an increase in the blood delivery of oxygen to the brain
probably increases cognitive function.

Also, chewing a stick of gum probably fools the body into thinking that it
is about to get a meal, increasing insulin production.  The hippocampus, the
region of the brain that deals with memory, has insulin receptors which are
involved in increasing the uptake of glucose.

It took some trial an error on my part, to be able to make SSB QSO's at a
high rate, while actively chewing, but it can be done.  It was very similar
to the practice I was required to employ when I changed from sending CW with
my right hand, to my left hand, some twenty years ago, but it can be done.

So there you have it.  Chewing gum helps your memory while contesting.

Please let me know how it works out for you.

Vy 73

Jim Neiger
N6TJ

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