By Dorothy Otieno
There is a certain word that is not allowed in polite company but scientist says it is a reasonable tactic that reduces pain.
A new study in the journal NeuroReport found that swearing can lesson pain.
Researchers from the school of psychology at Britain’s Keele University found that volunteers who curse at will endure pain nearly 50 per cent longer than mild- mannered peers.
During the study, 64 volunteers were asked to put their hand in a tub of ice water while repeating a swear word of their choice.
The volunteers were asked to carry out the exercise again but without uttering an expletive.
The researchers found that volunteers who swore kept their hands submerged in the water for an average of 40 seconds longer.
They also rated perceived pain they also rated it as being lower.
"Swearing taps into emotional brain centres and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain. Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists," says Dr Richard Stephens, from Keele’s school of psychology.
"Swearing is quite an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon."
The researchers also measured the volunteers’ heart rate and found that it increased while swearing.
Link exists
While it is not clear how or why this link exists, the team suggests that the accelerated heart rates may indicate an increase in aggression.
"We think it could be part of the flight-fight response. In the volunteers who swore, we also found they had an elevated heart rate, so it could be increasing their aggression levels," says Stephens.
Increased aggression has been shown to reduce people’s sensitivity to pain.
But before you curse consider that the study found that cursing lessened the perception of pain more strongly in women than men.
Stephens says swearing is emotional language but if overused, it loses its emotional attachment."
The team that included John Atkins and Andrew Kingston believe the findings might explain why the centuries-old practice of cursing developed and persists.
Despite their initial expectations, the researchers found that the volunteers were able to keep their hands in ice water for a longer period of time when repeating the swear word.
The result was contrary to what the team had anticipated.
Psychologists have in the past suggested that swearing is a symptom of "catastrophism" — an attitude that foresees disaster as they only possible outcome of a situation.