Profanity helps exert more effort during sports activities.
Swearing can increase physical strength and endurance — this is the conclusion reached by psychologists from the University of Keele and the University of Alabama. The study, published in American Psychologist (AP), showed that profanity helps people exert more effort when performing physical exercises.
Nearly 200 volunteers aged 18 to 65 participated in the experiments. Participants performed a strength exercise — a body lift using their arms from a seated position — while simultaneously repeating either a swear word or a neutral word. In the swearing condition, people held the load significantly longer.
Analysis of psychological states showed that swearing increased levels of confidence, engagement, and positive emotions, while reducing distractibility. According to the authors, such words help to "remove internal brakes" and transition into a more active, mobilized state.
The researchers emphasize that the effect is not related to physiological doping — it is a simple psychological mechanism. According to the authors, swearing can be seen as "an accessible and free way to temporarily enhance physical output," although additional research is needed for a precise understanding of the mechanism.
