Can Cursing Reduce Your Stress?
- 12 years ago
Can Cursing Reduce Your Stress? - as part of the news and politics series by GeoBeats.
Cursing is a bad habit! Remember our parents telling us that. Well, like a few other things they may not have been right about this one.
Research suggests that cursing can infact be beneficial.
In a March, 2012 article, Business Insider cited a University of East Anglia study which determined that swearing in the workplace helps co-workers develop a sense of camaraderie and is a mode for expressing one's feelings. And perhaps this is what Joe Biden was trying to do when congratulating Obama on the health care reform.
A report published in August 2009 in Neuroreport, as noted by BBC, found that swearing increased pain tolerance and decreased pain perception in nearly 60 test subjects who were asked to hold their hands in icy water while swearing. The theory being that swearing increases adrenalin production fueling our fight or flight response.
Of course, for every study there is a counter study. Professors at the University of Bristol's School of Experimental Psychology recently concluded that swearing out
loud actually increased emotions and stress levels during an experiment on test subjects.
An interesting tidbit by New York Times - men swear more than women unless those women are in a sorority.
So do you find swearing helpful, harmful, or just plain rude?
Cursing is a bad habit! Remember our parents telling us that. Well, like a few other things they may not have been right about this one.
Research suggests that cursing can infact be beneficial.
In a March, 2012 article, Business Insider cited a University of East Anglia study which determined that swearing in the workplace helps co-workers develop a sense of camaraderie and is a mode for expressing one's feelings. And perhaps this is what Joe Biden was trying to do when congratulating Obama on the health care reform.
A report published in August 2009 in Neuroreport, as noted by BBC, found that swearing increased pain tolerance and decreased pain perception in nearly 60 test subjects who were asked to hold their hands in icy water while swearing. The theory being that swearing increases adrenalin production fueling our fight or flight response.
Of course, for every study there is a counter study. Professors at the University of Bristol's School of Experimental Psychology recently concluded that swearing out
loud actually increased emotions and stress levels during an experiment on test subjects.
An interesting tidbit by New York Times - men swear more than women unless those women are in a sorority.
So do you find swearing helpful, harmful, or just plain rude?