A study being published in the August 5th edition of NeuroReport says that swearing in responcse to pain, increased tolerance for it. So when you’re battling up the Alps, trying to out-sprint Cavendish, or just punishing your friends, keep this in mind.
Dr. Richard Stephens of Keele University got the idea for the study after hitting his thumb with a hammer while building a shed in his garden.
Three researchers at Keele University’s School of Psychology in England enlisted 64 volunteers to place their hands in ice cold water for as long as they could while repeating a swear word of their choice. They performed the exercise again, but repeated a random word chosen to describe a table. The results showed that with a swear word, the subjects were able to keep their hands submerged almost twice as long, averaging nearly two minutes using an expletive, while only a minute and fifteen seconds saying the table descriptor.
The researchers were surprised by the results. They expected pain tolerance to decrease not improve, theorizing that swearing would exaggerate the severity of the pain. But it appears the opposite happened. Dr. Stephens believes swearing triggers both an emotional and physical response to help cope with pain. The results showed that swearing accelerated heart rates and increased aggression, triggering a natural ‘fight-or-flight’ response to handle pain. Dr. Stephens warned though, “If they want to use this pain-lessening effect to their advantage, they need to do less casual swearing and only do it when they really need it.”
He also added “GO FEYENOORD”
