EXTRA® Gum Survey Reveals Students' Struggle to Focus and Find Adequate Study Help

Ahead of Back-To-School season, EXTRA® gum is spotlighting students' study habits and helping to identify ways to tackle the school year with a renewed sense of focus

NEWARK, N.J., July 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Mars' EXTRA® gum is unveiling the results of a recent survey aimed at uncovering the study and homework habits of students, just ahead of the upcoming back-to-school season. In partnership with KRC Research, EXTRA gum surveyed 1,000 U.S. students about homework and studying. Notable findings include that the majority of high school students have trouble focusing on their studies and many find that their parent(s) do not know how to help them with homework.

By issuing this survey, EXTRA gum's goal was to uncover students' true study habits and identify ways to help students tackle the back-to-school season with ease, confidence, and a renewed sense of focus.

Key findings from the survey include:

• Fleeting focus is a common struggle. Nearly two-thirds of high school students say they have trouble focusing on homework.
• Distractions are dragging them down. Seventy-four percent of students become distracted within a half hour of doing homework; forty percent within 10 minutes!
• They're hitting the books instead of hitting the hay. Sixty percent of high school students do their homework after 6PM; twenty percent of older high school students do their homework after 9pm.
• More than half (65%) say they struggle to focus on homework during late-night hours.
• Homework help is hard to come by. Nearly half (49%) of older high school students (age 15-17) find that their parent(s) do not know how to help them with their homework.
• Seventy-five percent of students agree it's easier to focus on homework if you're doing it with someone else. Parents are the first choice to ask for help (64%), then the internet (60%), then a friend (46%). Interestingly, generative AI like ChatGPT sits low on the list (12%).
• They're CHEWsing to chew it over. Sixty-nine percent of high school students turn to gum to help them focus, with the most common instances including doing homework at home (65%), studying at home (65%), while in class (60%) and while playing video games (49% of males).

While gum cannot solve a tough Calculus problem or help ace a pop quiz in Physics, some studies have shown that chewing gum can help maintain focus and attention.^1,2 This makes EXTRA gum a perfect addition to any back-to-school shopping list and a great sidekick for students to have when sitting down to focus this fall. Other focus-friendly tips and tricks for students include listening to lo-fi or instrumental beats, creating an optimal workspace, making a structured to-do list and more.

"As we look ahead to back-to-school season, we hope to inspire moments of everyday happiness and help families prepare for the upcoming school year by sharing some focus-friendly tools, tips and tricks for students to use," said Maria Urista, Vice President at Mars Wrigley. "We know that with a new school year comes incredibly busy schedules for students. With a little extra focus, students can better manage their workload and extracurriculars, allowing more time for meaningful connections and experiences."

Later this summer, EXTRA will be announcing additional initiatives to help support students in their peak studying moments as they head back to school.

EXTRA gum is available nationwide at most back-to-school shopping locations. For more focus-friendly tips and tricks, parents and students can visit extragum.com/focus or follow @EXTRAGum on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a global, family-owned business, Mars is transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world.

Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality confectionery, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 140,000+ dedicated Associates. With almost $45 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world's best-loved brands including Ben's Original™, CESAR®, Cocoavia®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, KIND®, M&M's®, SNICKERS®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®. We are creating a better world for pets through our global network of pet hospitals and diagnostic services – including AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus and VCA™ – using cutting edge technology to develop breakthrough programs in genetic health screening and DNA testing.

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¹ Hirano and Onozuka. Biomed Res Int. 2015.
² Miquel et al. Physiol Behav. 2019

SOURCE Mars, Incorporated