Why Swearing Is Good for You, According to Science

For the most part, we use swearing as a simple tool to express our feelings, whether they’re positive or negative. However, the benefits of cussing don’t stop there, it’s scientifically proven to be good for us, and we should absolutely take full advantage of that.

Bright Side is all for beneficial swearing, when appropriate, so we would like to show you why it’s good for us and what you gain from it.

1. It may be a sign of intelligence.

According to this study, swearing might mean you’re intelligent. Participants were tasked with listing all the words that start with F, A, or S that they could think of in a minute. After that, they were given an additional minute to think of cuss words starting with the same three letters. The results of the study were that the people who could think of the most F, A and S words also came up with the most curse words.

2. It may be a sign of honesty.

In a series of three studies, conducted in 2017, a positive link between profanity and honesty was discovered. They also revealed that people who cursed lied less on an interpersonal level, and had higher levels of integrity overall.

3. It may improve pain tolerance.

Multiple studies have proved that swearing can increase our pain tolerance. This study suggests that people who put their hands in ice-cold water and used these words were able to feel less pain and keep their hands in the water longer than people who didn’t use profanity. While this study suggests that people on bikes who had to pedal against resistance had more power and strength when they cussed than people who only used neutral words.

4. It can be cathartic.

Using curse words allows us to express a wide range of emotions. It lets us to communicate our feelings swiftly and effectively. And science confirms that it really does have a positive, cathartic effect on us.

5. It can help you bond with co-workers.

According to this study, swearing in the form of banter in the workplace had positive effects on the atmosphere. It was discovered that forms of profanity were used to express friendliness and solidarity, but also as a means to fix or ease complications involving complaints or refused requests.

Do you swear? Have you ever experienced the benefits of using profanity mentioned in this article?