SWEARING does help with pain relief when people hurt themselves, a survey found — and F-bombs are best to use.
Just over half of those quizzed said shouting “F***” eases the agony, with a similar amount having “S***” as their go-to word.
GettySwearing does help with pain relief when people hurt themselves, a survey found — and F-bombs are best to use[/caption]
“Bloody hell”, “Damn” and “B*****ks” also made the top five, with around a quarter of people using them.
In all, 64 per cent said turning the air blue helps take away the pain of a stubbed toe or similar injury — a theory backed up by science.
Neuropsychologist Dr Rachel Taylor said: “When people swear, it can activate the amygdala which triggers a fight or-flight response.
“This then leads to a surge in adrenaline, a natural form of pain relief.”
But she added the effect is dulled for those who swear all the time.
That is bad news for the 17 per cent of us who admit to “swearing like a trooper”, with the average Brit cursing nine times a day.
The survey of 2,000 people for insights agency Perspectus Global also found 28 per cent of us are not bothered by swearing.
However, 26 per cent believe the world would be a better place without it.