TRENDING SCIENCE: Is swearing actually good for us?

“Watch your mouth!” Could our parents and guardians have been so wrong all those years ago? According to findings published in the journal ‘Lingua’, swearing might actually be good for you.

Researchers from Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK) studied 100 academic papers on swearing to identify any potential benefits. Overall, the study shows that swearing differs from and is more powerful than other forms of language use.They found that swearing can positively influence relationships when used to show signs of solidarity or joy. It can also make you appear more persuasive and happier, as well as help to better manage pain. Swearing can also improve your performance during physical activity.

“Swearing was long dismissed as a topic of serious research because it was assumed to be simply a sign of aggression, weak language proficiency or even low intelligence,” the research team wrote in ‘The Conversation’. “We now have quite a lot of evidence that challenges this view, prompting us to reconsider the nature – and power – of swearing.”Despite such an obvious impact on our minds, bodies and even our relationships, we still don’t know where swearing gets its power. “If you ask most people to explain the power of swearing, they will probably give answer [sic] consistent with what we call the ‘soap and water’ hypothesis,” co-author and psychologist Dr Richard Stephens from Keele University in the UK explained in a news item published by the same institution. “The idea is people have some kind of childhood experience of being chastised by an adult for swearing, and the idea then is that the memory for this unpleasant encounter stays with the person and is forever associated with swearing. Unfortunately, the evidence for this in the current research is weak, so the jury remains out on the question of where swearing gets its power from.”

Lead author Dr Karyn Stapleton from the UK’s Ulster University further elaborated: “Basically, we found that swearing does things that other language does not! We know that these effects do not come from the words themselves, a swear word in an unfamiliar language will seem just like any other word and will not produce any of these outcomes. A lot of the social impact of swearing comes from its potential to cause offence – but this does not explain how it acquires such profound physiological, emotional and cognitive significance for individuals.”

Now all this doesn’t mean you should let your potty mouth run free! Always remember the circumstance you find yourself in and how it may affect others.