Although the theory hasn’t been tested on patients with chronic pain, a study published in the American Pain Journal suggests that swearing makes pain more tolerable.

For their study, researchers asked two groups of people to stick their hands in a bucket of ice cold water. Both groups were told to remove their hand from the bucket when the pain became unbearable, but one group was asked to repeat a word that may describe a table, while the other group was encouraged to repeat one swear word while their hand was in the water. After the groups were recorded, they switched roles and repeated the exercise.

Swearing Study Results

As you might imagine, participants in the swearing group were able to hold their hands in the water for a longer duration than the non-swearing group. What you might not have guessed is just how long the swearing group could hold out. On average, swearers lasted an extra 31 seconds in the cold hand challenge, and 3 out of 4 people lasted longer in the bucket when they swore.

Interestingly, researchers noted that people who reported swearing more frequently on a regular basis were less effective cursing was during the cold hand endurance test. They believe people who frequently express their anger in a verbal manner seem to be more sensitive to acute and chronic pain. On the flip side, those who don’t regularly swear were able to better tolerate pain when they cursed.

The reason swearing can help ease your pain is because it can activate your brain’s endogenous opioids, which act as a natural pain reliever. These chemicals mimic the effects of morphine and oxycodone, albeit on a smaller scale. That said, like a lot of medications, once your body gets used to it, the effects may not as successful at relieving pain. Researchers believe that higher doses or more vulgar words may be needed to achieve the same effect, which can cause people to unknowingly start to add more cursing to their regular speech.

In all, letting out a curse word after hitting your thumb with a hammer may help you better handle the pain, but you shouldn’t sit on the couch all day cursing your arthritis.

Related source: Time