Want to go faster? Then swear FFS, says study

Cause for rejoicing among those who have always believed in the accelerative power of colourful language. Sky News reports on a recent study that has found that repeating profanities while cycling boosts performance.

Dr Richard Stephens has taken a keen interest in swearing ever since his wife gave birth to their second child.

She apparently produced “a rather impressive selection of expletives during each wave of agonising contractions” and Stephens was struck by the midwife’s explanation that four-letter words were a completely normal and routine part of the process of giving birth.

Writing for The Psychologist, he said: “When I eventually returned to my desk at Keele University School of Psychology I wondered why it was that people swear in response to pain. Was it a coping mechanism, an outlet for frustration, or what?”

Earlier research has indicated that swearing makes people more able to tolerate pain. Stephens explained: "A possible reason for this is that it stimulates the body's sympathetic nervous system – that's the system that makes your heart pound when you are in danger.

"If that is the reason, we would expect swearing to make people stronger too, and that is just what we found in these experiments."

A series of tests saw people repeating either a swear word or a word they might use to describe a table (such as “wooden” or “brown”) as they cycled for 30 seconds on a stationary bike or as they performed a hand-grip test.

The foul-mouthed achieved 24 watts more peak power in the cycling task and boosted their strength by the equivalent of 2.1kg in the grip test.

Expanding on the methodology, Stephens said: “They don’t scream and shout it. They repeat it in an even tone.”

As for why swearing should prove so beneficial, he said that remained to be discovered. “We have yet to understand the power of swearing fully," he said.

As many of you will no doubt be aware, the phenomenon of power through profanity can easily be explored with just a bike and a steep hill. Stephens admitted as much.

“We’re not telling people something they don’t already know, but we’re verifying that in a systematic and objective way. I think people instinctively reach for swearwords when they hurt themselves and when they’re looking for an extra boost in performance.”

According to the Keele University website, Stephens’ other main area of research other than swearing is hangovers.