Swearing is something most of us do from time to time—when we stub a toe, get cut off in traffic, or feel frustrated.
It often feels good to let out a curse word in the heat of the moment. But now, scientists say swearing might do more than just help us blow off steam. It might actually make us physically stronger.
Researchers from Keele University in the United Kingdom, led by Dr. Richard Stephens, have found that swearing can improve how well people perform in physical tasks.
This includes things like holding up your body during a chair push-up or keeping your hand in ice-cold water. Their latest study, published in the journal American Psychologist, shows that swearing may help people break through mental barriers and push harder.
So how does this work? According to the researchers, many people hold themselves back during physical activities—sometimes without even realizing it.
Swearing might help break these limits by making people feel more confident and focused. Dr. Stephens explains that swearing helps people let go of social rules and mental hesitation. It puts them in a state where they’re ready to give more effort.
To understand this better, the team did two experiments with 192 participants. In each experiment, people were asked to say either a swear word or a neutral word (like “tree” or “chair”) every two seconds while doing a chair push-up. After the exercise, the researchers asked the participants how they felt mentally during the task.
The questions focused on different feelings that show a person is more relaxed or less self-conscious—things like feeling happy, confident, amused, or focused. The researchers also measured something called “flow.” This is a state where people feel fully involved in what they are doing, like when an athlete is “in the zone.”
The results were clear. People who swore during the task could hold the chair push-up position longer than those who said neutral words. They also felt more confident, focused, and less distracted.
When the researchers combined these new findings with data from an earlier study, they found that swearing helped people reach a state of flow and boosted their mental readiness.
These results show that swearing is more than just a habit. It could be a helpful tool when you need to push yourself, like during exercise or a stressful situation. Dr. Stephens calls it a “calorie-free, drug-free, low-cost” way to boost performance. In other words, it’s something most people can use right away to help themselves.
Looking ahead, the research team wants to see if swearing helps in other situations where people often feel nervous or hesitate. For example, they are now studying if swearing can help people give public speeches or ask someone out on a date—two activities that often make people feel shy or unsure.
In conclusion, this study offers a new way to look at swearing. While it’s often seen as rude or unhelpful, it might actually be a simple and powerful tool to break mental barriers and improve how we perform. It doesn’t cost anything, doesn’t require training, and might help people feel braver and more capable in tough moments.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about Middle-aged women with no kids may have this mental issue and findings of scientists find a cause of mental illnesses induced by childhood abuse.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about Frequent painkiller use linked to mental health risks in these people and findings of Common depression drugs may offer new treatment for bipolar disorder.
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