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Pain Management More Efficient with Swearing, Says Study
Researchers advise people to swear when they hurt themselves
By Elena Gorgan, Life & Style Editor
14th of July 2009, 20:34 GMT
No one likes it when someone has some sort of public outburst and starts hurling insults at everyone and everything. However, cursing could be a very way of coping with pain by relieving it on the spot, a new research indicates. While the exact connection between swearing and pain management has yet to be established, the study marks a first step into that direction, as ScientificAmerican points out.
The research included volunteers who were asked to dip their hand in frozen water. As per their own choice, they were divided into two groups, one that could use a chant or a repetitive, non-offensive word throughout the entire duration of the test, and the other that included only members who chose one of their favorite cusses to repeat. At the end, researchers noted that the students taking part in the study who chose the latter option lasted an average of about 40 seconds more with their hand immersed in cold water than the members of the group who did not swear. At the same time, they also noted they had experienced comparatively less pain.
This has prompted researchers to state that, while cursing in public continues to be decried in our society, maybe it’s a practice that should not be banned altogether. Being a common response to pain for reasons not yet fully known, and simultaneously, being the first choice of more people than one could count must be a sign that it works on levels that go beyond verbal, scientists say. “Swearing is such a common response to pain that there has to be an underlying reason why we do it. I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear.” psychologist Richard Stephens of Keele University in England, leader of the study, says for the aforementioned publication.
As noted above, it is not yet certain how swearing acts in pain management, but researchers seem to believe that it has to do with activating a part of the brain that is not normally activated during speech. It also contributes to increasing the heart rate, which, in turn, makes the organism less sensitive to pain no matter its intensity, it is further said, which is why the first reaction of many when stumbling upon an item of furniture or falling down is to involuntarily swear.
“Researchers speculate that brain circuitry linked to emotion is involved. Earlier studies have shown that unlike normal language, which relies on the outer few millimeters in the left hemisphere of the brain, expletives hinge on evolutionarily ancient structures buried deep inside the right half. One such structure is the amygdala, an almond-shaped group of neurons that can trigger a fight-or-flight response in which our heart rate climbs and we become less sensitive to pain. Indeed, the students’ heart rates rose when they swore, a fact the researchers say suggests that the amygdala was activated.” ScientificAmerican states of the findings of the study.
Researchers advise people to swear when they hurt themselves
By Elena Gorgan, Life & Style Editor
14th of July 2009, 20:34 GMT
No one likes it when someone has some sort of public outburst and starts hurling insults at everyone and everything. However, cursing could be a very way of coping with pain by relieving it on the spot, a new research indicates. While the exact connection between swearing and pain management has yet to be established, the study marks a first step into that direction, as ScientificAmerican points out.
The research included volunteers who were asked to dip their hand in frozen water. As per their own choice, they were divided into two groups, one that could use a chant or a repetitive, non-offensive word throughout the entire duration of the test, and the other that included only members who chose one of their favorite cusses to repeat. At the end, researchers noted that the students taking part in the study who chose the latter option lasted an average of about 40 seconds more with their hand immersed in cold water than the members of the group who did not swear. At the same time, they also noted they had experienced comparatively less pain.
This has prompted researchers to state that, while cursing in public continues to be decried in our society, maybe it’s a practice that should not be banned altogether. Being a common response to pain for reasons not yet fully known, and simultaneously, being the first choice of more people than one could count must be a sign that it works on levels that go beyond verbal, scientists say. “Swearing is such a common response to pain that there has to be an underlying reason why we do it. I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear.” psychologist Richard Stephens of Keele University in England, leader of the study, says for the aforementioned publication.
As noted above, it is not yet certain how swearing acts in pain management, but researchers seem to believe that it has to do with activating a part of the brain that is not normally activated during speech. It also contributes to increasing the heart rate, which, in turn, makes the organism less sensitive to pain no matter its intensity, it is further said, which is why the first reaction of many when stumbling upon an item of furniture or falling down is to involuntarily swear.
“Researchers speculate that brain circuitry linked to emotion is involved. Earlier studies have shown that unlike normal language, which relies on the outer few millimeters in the left hemisphere of the brain, expletives hinge on evolutionarily ancient structures buried deep inside the right half. One such structure is the amygdala, an almond-shaped group of neurons that can trigger a fight-or-flight response in which our heart rate climbs and we become less sensitive to pain. Indeed, the students’ heart rates rose when they swore, a fact the researchers say suggests that the amygdala was activated.” ScientificAmerican states of the findings of the study.
