Written by: Lily Rudd, Intern
Your grandma might not want to hear this, but psychologists have discovered that swearing has both physical and mental health benefits.
Dr. Richard Stephens’ curiosity was sparked when he observed that swearing and pain tend to go together – an observation we have likely all made (Mills, 2025).
People stub their toe → they swear.
People hit their head → they swear.
People trip → they swear.
For Dr. Stephens, the questions were:
#1: Does swearing help humans tolerate pain?
#2: Does swearing make people stronger?
❄️ Question #1: Swearing & Pain Tolerance
Dr. Stephens asked participants to:
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Place one hand in ice-cold water.
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Repeat either a swear word or a neutral word.
Result:
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People repeating a swear word kept their hand in longer.
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Conclusion: Swearing does help humans tolerate pain (Mills, 2025).
💪 Question #2: Swearing & Strength
Participants tried:
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Wingate test (cycling for 30 seconds against high resistance)
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Hand grip task
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Chair push-up task
Result:
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People swearing performed with more strength or for more time.
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Conclusion: Swearing does make people stronger (Mills, 2025).
⚡ Why Does Swearing Work?
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Swearing activates the autonomic nervous system (fight or flight).
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More sweating → more swearing (Stapleton et al., 2022).
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Effects sometimes occur without autonomic arousal — meaning other brain processes are also at play.
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Researchers are still exploring the psychology behind these benefits.
🚫 The Disinhibition Hypothesis
Swearing allows people to defy social constraints — even briefly (Mills, 2025).
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Being in a disinhibited state can boost strength, endurance, and performance.
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Could even help before public speaking — think of it as a private swearing warm-up.
⚠️ Too Much of a Good Thing
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Swearing too often leads to habituation.
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Frequent swearers saw less benefit in pain tolerance studies.
💭 Just something to keep in mind — but the next time you’re working out or preparing for a presentation, consider what swearing could do for you.
📚 References
Mills, K. (Host). (2025, April). The psychology of swearing, with Richard Stephens, PhD (No. 327) [Audio podcast episode]. Speaking of Psychology. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/swearing
Stapleton, K., Fägerston, K., Stephens, R., Loveday, C. (2022). The power of swearing: what we know and what we don’t. Lingua, 277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2022.103406