Is swearing good for you?

Have you ever banged your head and started swearing from the pain and shock? If yes, it turns out that your swearing may have actually reduced the physical pain you felt.

That is the result of a study conducted by psychologists at the University of Keele, who tested the effect of swearing on physical pain.

In the study, 64 student volunteers were asked to submerge their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as they could, whilst repeating a swear word of their own choice. The experiment was then repeated, except this time the students had to use words which described a table instead of swearing.

Surprisingly, the researchers found that volunteers who repeatedly swore were able to keep their hands in the icy water for an average of 40 seconds longer than when they used the inoffensive words. The volunteers who swore also had increased heart rates coupled with reduced pain perception.

Although the study does not reveal how the pain lessening effect occurs, the researchers think that swearing may trigger our natural "flight-or-fight" response. They suggest the accelerated heart rates of the students may indicate an increase in aggression, in a classic fight-or-flight response of "downplaying feebleness in favour of a more pain-tolerant machismo."

"What is clear is that swearing triggers not only an emotional response, but a physical one too" said Dr. Richard Stephens who led the study. "Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists," he added.

Previous research suggested that swearing has a "catastrophising" effect, and exaggerates the degree of pain experienced.

"Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon," Dr. Stephens said. "Swearing is such a common response to pain that there has to be an under lying reason why we do it," he added.

This article was published on Mon 13 July 2009