Can swearing help you push through a workout or other challenging physical task?
According to a new study published on Thursday in the journal American Psychologist, dropping that F-bomb does more than express your frustration at a physically intensive situation. It can help you focus more, let go of whatever is holding you back and help you finish the task.
The study proposes that “swearing, a simple and universally accessible linguistic tool, can function as an effective intervention to counteract tendencies to hold back, and enhance performance,” says Richard Stephens of Keele University’s School of Psychology.
The study was conducted by four researchers from two institutions: Richard Stephens, Harry Dowber and Christopher Richardson from the School of Psychology at Keele University in England; and Nicholas B. Washmuth from the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The group conducted two experiments to determine whether swearing can enhance physical performance and whether the act facilitates a state in which individuals are less likely to hold back on their behavior.
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In both experiments, researchers asked participants to raise and support their body weight using only their hands against a chair seat for as long as they could.
The participants chose a swear word and a neutral word and were asked to repeat the two selected words every two seconds. The results found that using the swear word significantly increased the amount of time participants were able to maintain holding up their body weight, versus using the neutral word.
The second experiment doubled down on the first with 94 new participants, but introduced bystander apathy, which is linked to disinhibition. The idea was that people performing strenuous exercise at the gym might feel concerned about how others view them, only to realize that those people are too invested in their own workouts to care about what others think. Acknowledging the apathy of others, according to the study, can boost your own efforts and enhance your performance.
Ultimately, the experiments supported the idea that swearing allowed participants to maintain a longer hold time. Using the swear word allowed them to break through previously held restraints and reach their goal, thereby increasing self-confidence and fostering a positive psychological flow state.
So swear away, it might improve your next workout.
