The role of cursing in dispersing attention and acting as a pain reliever
A study has found that swearing when expressing emotions can help reduce pain and discomfort.
Recently, the UK daily ‘The Sun’ reported on this, citing the results of experiments from the psychology lab at Keele University and studies published in the neuroscience journal ‘NeuroReport.’
A team led by Dr. Richard Stephens at Keele University in the UK experimented on 67 undergraduates to determine the effects of swearing on pain relief. The research team had the students put their hands in ice water, with one group encouraged to continue claiming while the other group was told to repeat ordinary words.
The experiment found that students who swore while immersing their hands in ice water could endure the discomfort for an average of about 2 minutes. The students who did not swear only lasted for 1 minute and 15 seconds.
The research team analyzed that swearing when in pain not only helps to express painful emotions but also distracts attention, helping to endure the pain.
In another experiment, the research team had the subjects perform cycling and isometric exercises (static contraction exercises that only move muscles, not the whole body). In one instance, they were allowed to swear while exercising, and in another, they were only allowed to exercise without swearing.
As a result, the subjects demonstrated stronger exercise capabilities when they swore while cycling and gripping hand grips than when they exercised without swearing.
Dr. Richard Stephens explained, “Swearing stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which acts as an analgesic. The sympathetic nervous system makes the heart stronger when in danger.”
He continued, “Unlike all other language production that occurs in the left hemisphere of the brain, swearing occurs in the right brain. This is why swearing should be seen not as a simple language activity, but as a brain activity that affects exercise ability and endurance.”
By. Kim Hyo Jin
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