In this project, we investigated the effect of working memory load on pain perception in healthy individuals. Previous research has suggested that distraction can significantly reduce the experience of pain. We hypothesized that the engagement of working memory processes would similarly reduce pain. Eight male and nine female participants received noxious thermal stimuli while performing a computer-based cognitive task. The task, repeated in four sessions of 36 trials each, involved three stages. In the encoding phase, participants were shown a rapid sequence of letters. The sequence was randomly selected to be no load (zero letters), low load (two letters), moderate load (four letters) or high load (six letters). In the working memory phase, participants were instructed to remember the displayed letters, so that they could later recall if a specific letter had been displayed. During this 6-second interval period, participants were administered a thermal stimulus with one of four randomly determined temperatures: baseline, low-intensity, moderate-intensity, and high-intensity. Participants then rated the pain on a visual analog scale. In the recall phase, participants were shown a letter and asked to indicate whether or not it was presented in the earlier sequence. Results demonstrated that a high working memory load reduced pain ratings to a moderately-intensive stimulus by 35% (t = 4.5, p < 0.001). No pain reductions were found in the low-intensity and high-intensity conditions. Working memory had no impact on low-intensity pain, likely because of a floor effect. Pain in the high-intensity condition was likely too great to be affected by a cognitive task. These results suggest that, in healthy individuals, attention-demanding tasks can reduce the experience of pain.