A recent study suggests that cursing in response to pain may actually lesson the perception of pain.

The study, conducted by researchers at Keele University in Britain, included 64 individuals who were asked to place their hand in a bucket of ice water for as long as they could tolerate while at the same time saying a curse word of their choice. The same process was repeated wherein they were asked to use a neutral word.

What the data showed was that when curse words were used, individuals were able to tolerate pain for longer periods of time. The effect was similar for men and women although pain tolerance in women increased more than for males when curse words were used.

According to the rsearchers, "the observed pain-lessening (hypoalgesic) effect may occur because swearing induces a fight-or-flight response and nullifies the link between fear of pain and pain perception". The results were published online this week by  the journal  NeuroReport.

Other Living the Science News:
Reducing Calorie Intake Linked with Longer Living
Caffeine Shown to Reverse Alzheimer's Related Memory Loss 
Acetaminophen Health Dangers Spark Call for Regulation