The pain threshold for each individual is different. Moreover, it can change depending on the state of health and psyche. If a person is tired, sick or depressed by something, he suffers pain much worse than in a state of complete health and emotional recovery.
Pain threshold in men and women
Trained people tolerate pain easier: athletes, military personnel, etc. The pain threshold for men and women differs, as is the ability to endure pain for a long time. Women, by virtue of their anatomy and historical role as homemakers, react more sharply to pain.
Men - born warriors who have honed their defense mechanisms for centuries - generally have a higher pain threshold and can endure physical suffering longer. The hormone testosterone helps the representatives of the strong half of the world's population cope with them. It acts as an anesthetic. The higher the level of this hormone in a man, the easier he copes with intense and prolonged pain.
A practical test of endurance
An interesting study on this topic was published in 2005 by the British University of Bath (BathUniversity). It is one of the ten most prestigious universities in the UK, known for its extensive research base. Scientists at Bath University have conducted a series of experiments that refute the generally accepted hypothesis that women are more resilient.
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For the study, 2 groups of male and female volunteers were selected. Of course, no one tortured them on end or with the Spanish boot, the favorite instruments of torture of the Medieval Inquisition. Bath experts have found a more humane kind of medieval torture: lowering the non-dominant hand, alternately, first into warm (37 ° C) and then into icy water (1-2 ° C).
Scientists were interested in 2 points: the pain threshold (the point at which a person begins to feel pain) and the tolerance threshold (the time when he is able to endure it). Men bypassed women by both indicators with a significant advantage. Practice has shown that women are hurt more and they can endure pain for a very short time.
So the torture that "witches" were subjected to in the Middle Ages was an exorbitant test for the unfortunate. The opposite point of view - as if women are more enduring - arose erroneously due to incorrect assessment parameters: physiological characteristics, health, etc. were not taken into account.
Is it possible to increase the pain threshold
People of different genders deal with pain differently. Women tend to concentrate on her emotional aspect, which makes it harder for them to endure the torment. Coloring pain with emotion only aggravates suffering. Men act in this respect easier: they fixate only on their physical sensations.
If the ladies are completely immersed in pain, torturing themselves at the same time morally, then gentlemen immediately look for a way to get rid of the torment or come to terms with the pain and move on. For this reason, they can endure the worst torture for longer. Thanks to this approach, men are not only able to withstand more severe pain, but they can also significantly increase their pain threshold and endurance through regular exercise.
These conclusions were insisted on by the head of a group of British researchers, Ed Keogh. When Gavin Kenny, an anesthesiologist at the Royal Glasgow Hospital, got acquainted with them, he was very surprised. Kenny has done some research on the subject himself and found that men require an average of 25% more pain reliever (morphine) after major surgery. The specialist suggested that this is also a manifestation of the male strategy for the fastest relief from pain.