The Power of Swearing Boosts Physical Performance, Study Finds

A pair of experiments published in American Psychologist found that shouting expletives during a physical task can boost endurance and push athletes to exert more effort. In the study, participants who vocalized a chosen swear word during a simple grid of push-ups held their body weight longer than those who repeated a neutral word, suggesting that swearing can help overcome inhibitions and access greater physical effort when needed.

In the two experiments, a total of 192 adults participated. Each session required participants to perform chair push-ups while repeating either a swear word or a neutral term every two seconds. After completing the task, subjects answered questions about their mental state, including measures of positive emotion, distraction, self-confidence, and a psychological state known as flow—a focused immersion in activity perceived as pleasant. The researchers found that those who swore during the exercise extended the duration of the effort and reported heightened flow compared with the neutral-word condition.

The analysis indicated that the performance advantage was linked to shifts in participants’ mental states. Swearing was associated with greater perceived focus, reduced distraction, and higher self-confidence, which the team argued helped participants push through the challenge. Dr. Richard Stephens of Keele University, a lead author, said the findings help explain why swearing is so commonplace in high-pressure or endurance contexts and framed swearing as a readily available, low-cost tool that can momentarily counteract social constraints that might limit effort.

"Swearing is literally a calorie-neutral, drug-free, low-cost, readily available tool at our disposal for when we need a boost in performance," Stephens said. He added that, in many situations, people unconsciously hold back part of their strength, and swearing may help release that restraint and enable greater intensity during demanding tasks.

The research builds on earlier work showing that swearing can influence physical performance in other contexts, such as pain tolerance. In these new experiments, the mechanism appears to hinge on heightened focus and confidence facilitated by vocalizing a strong word at key moments. The authors suggest that swearing could have valuable applications in sport, rehabilitation, and any scenario that requires courage or assertiveness, though they emphasize that the technique should be used judiciously within appropriate settings.

Nick Washmuth, a PhD student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville who contributed to the study, said the team plans to examine whether this boost from swearing extends to other performance domains. Follow-up work is already exploring whether swearing can influence behaviors such as public speaking and romance-related decisions, situations where hesitation often delays action. Washmuth noted that while the current findings are promising for physical tasks, researchers will assess how broadly the effects translate to non-physical challenges.

The study’s authors acknowledge that cultural and individual differences in swearing exist, pointing to broader research showing that language use around taboo terms varies by country and context. Despite such variation, the researchers argue that the core finding—swearing can temporarily unlock greater performance by altering mental state—offers a new lens on how simple vocal expressions interact with motivation and effort.

Experts unaffiliated with the study have cautioned that swearing is not a universal performance enhancer and should be considered as one potential tool among many in training and rehabilitation programs. Nonetheless, the research provides a structured, evidence-based context for understanding why athletes sometimes swear during peak moments and how such language may contribute to pushing beyond perceived limits. As scientists continue to map the boundaries of this effect, practitioners may begin to test swearing as part of controlled performance strategies in suitable environments.

In a broader cultural snapshot connected to the topic, researchers have studied how different populations use and perceive the f-word and its variants, underscoring that language, culture, and social norms shape both exposure to and response to swearing. While these ancillary findings highlight linguistic diversity, the central health-focused takeaway remains: swearing, when used strategically and in appropriate settings, may serve as a simple, accessible aid to physical performance and psychological readiness during challenging activities.