Many people have an impulse to spit out a curse word when they hurt their toe. For many, it is a reflex reaction, and studies over the past decade show that swearing can increase pain tolerance.
Dr. Rachel Taylor told MailOnline that swearing acts as a natural pain reliever so people could deal with and endure it longer. She explained that it activates the part of the brain responsible for the fight-or-flight reaction, which triggers a surge of adrenaline or the natural form of pain relief.
Swearing Can Be Good for Health: Blurting Out Curse Words Found to Reduce Pain
Relationship Between Britons and Swearing
According to a survey of 2,000 Britons performed by research firm Perspectus Global, the average person swears nine times each day, wherein males swear about 10 times and eight times for women.
The findings were intriguing, with about seven in 10, or 69% of British people believing that cursing was still a powerful act. Therefore, while cursing is more prevalent than ever, it still has the capacity to disturb. About 51% of those asked believe they curse far more than their parents did with just 26% claiming they swear less.
It is also worth noting that many of the most powerful words have their roots in old English, Anglo-Saxon, or early German and have been with us for hundreds of years. The popular "f-word" is a relative newcomer, having first appeared in the 1500s - though some scholars believe it was not written before that because it was too vulgar.
Although they remain unsayable, the survey demonstrated how people's attitudes toward other phrases that would have been considered outrageously disrespectful just a few generations ago have altered.
While blasphemy was considered the ultimate swear word, 41% of the participants said they do not consider uttering "Oh My God" to constitute cursing, and 36% admit to saying "Damn" without thinking twice.
Lastly, 38% of those asked feel that some terms which were entirely undesirable in the past are now perfectly acceptable, and 47% believe that there are still words that should not be used in order to avoid offending others.
Swearing Reduces Pain
MailOnline reports that the survey also discovered that over two-thirds (64%) of British feel that cursing helps to relieve pain if you injure yourself, a belief shared by neuroscientists.
The most popular curse word according to the survey is the f-word, followed by s**t, and bloody hell in the second and third spots respectively. The survey has listed other curse words on Perspectus Globa's website.
Dr. Taylor said swearing can trigger the amygdala, which controls the fight-or-flight response and is responsible for instinctual and difficult-to-control behavior and emotional responses.
However, she warned that the most prolific sweaters can become immune to the pain-healing properties of curse words. A 2009 study by researchers at Keele University led by psychologist Dr. Richard Stephens found that swearing can cause short-term pain relief.
The study found that the participants could endure pain when repeating a swear word of their choice. Dr. Stephens said that swearing has been around for centuries and seems to be a universal linguistic phenomenon. It triggers the emotional parts of the brain in the right hemisphere, whereas most language production happens in the left hemisphere.
He added that swearing causes not just an emotional response, but also a physical one, which may explain why the centuries-old habit of cursing evolved and continues today.
RELATED ARTICLE: Repeating the "F" Word Could Increase Pain Tolerance, Ice Water Experiment Reveals
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