Andrew Huberman· PhD
You may have heard before that redheads have a higher pain threshold than other individuals. And indeed, that is true.
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The headline is broadly defensible, but the qualifications matter. Effect sizes vary by population, the strongest claims rest on shorter trials, and credible voices push back on how it's typically framed.
You may have heard before that redheads have a higher pain threshold than other individuals. And indeed, that is true.
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redheads men and women who are redheads seem to have this higher pain threshold. And it does seem to be because their body naturally produces ways to counter the pain response. They produce their own endogenous opioids.
So what's really interesting is that this study showed that the presence of these hormones is in everybody. We all have melanocortin 4, we all have beta endorphins. We all have POMC et cetera, but red heads make more of these endogenous endorphins. And that's interesting. It allows them to buffer against the pain response.