Singing can be of great help to your health and it can also be very pleasant. Discover how singing can bring benefits not only emotionally, but also affecting physical health.
If you ever have the desire to indulge in a song – in the shower, in the car, maybe at your neighbor’s infamous karaoke night – you must embrace it wholeheartedly. The ancient art of singing not only feels good, it can improve your well-being, reduce your feelings of pain, and even prolong your life .
Benefits of singing improves health
You don’t have to be a professional to reap the benefits of singing.
Using your voice to sing, rather than conducting a conversation, offers unique benefits. “When we sing instead of speaking, we have intonation, melody, and crescendo, which gives us a broader vocabulary to express ourselves,” says Suzanne Hanser, chair of the department of music therapy at Berklee College of Music. “Because the singing is visceral, he can’t help but make the change.”
Singing Reduces stress and pain
Studies have linked singing to a lower heart rate, lower blood pressure and reduced stress, according to Patricia Preston-Roberts, a certified music therapist in New York. She uses singing to help patients suffering from a variety of psychological and physiological conditions.
“Some people who have been traumatized often want to leave the physical body and using the voice helps ground their bodies,” says Preston-Roberts. “Singing also seems to block many of the nerve pathways that travel through pain.”
Singing for the elderly
Singing, especially in a choir, seems to benefit older people very well. As part of a three-year study examining how singing affects the health of people 55 and older, a choir of senior singers was formed at the Levine School of Music in Washington, DC.
The older people who participated in the choir (as well as the older people involved in two separate groups that involved arts, writing and painting) showed significant improvements in health compared to those in the control groups. Specifically, the artistic groups reported an average of:
- 30 fewer doctor visits
- Less vision problems
- Less incidence of depression
- Less need for medication
- Fewer falls and other injuries
Even lead researcher Dr. Gene D. Cohen, director of the George Washington University Center on Aging, Health and Humanities in Washington, DC, was surprised by how much of an effect senior participation had on his health.
“My surprise was not a factor in whether the intervention was going to work, but how great an effect it had in later life,” Cohen said. “The mean age of all the subjects was 80 years. This is higher than life expectancy, so realistically, if an effect were to be achieved, one would normally expect to see a smaller decrease in the intervention group compared to the control group. The fact that there was an improvement in many areas was the surprise factor. ”
Older people themselves also saw improvements in health, said Jeanne Kelly, director of the Levine School of Music in Arlington, who led the choir group. The older ones reported:
- Feeling better, both in everyday life and while singing.
- His voice quality was better every day.
- The tone of their voice when they spoke did not seem that of an old person
- It’s easier to breathe
- Better posture
Singing and Alzheimer’s disease
Older people who belong to a choir report easier breathing, better posture, and fewer visits to the doctor.
Taking the feel-good effects of singing is a step further. Chreanne Montgomery-Smith of the Alzheimer’s Society founded Singing for the Brain, a singing group for people with dementia, memory problems or Alzheimer’s disease.
“ We have an avid following in the group we have. The families believe that their lives have improved and somehow people have been kept that way longer. People who have constant memory problems are so weakened by this, but somehow the singing memory is preserved forever in the brain and that lifts people up when they can remember things, “says Montgomery-Smith.
The part of the brain that works with speech is different from the part that processes music , which is what allows people who can no longer converse to still enjoy music, said Clive Ballard, director of research for the Alzheimer’s Society. and Professor of Age Related Diseases at Kings College London.
” People seem to enjoy doing something in common with other people, and there is a great deal of evidence that being socially engaged is good for people with dementia, ” added Ballard.
Singing tutor Liz McNaughton, who is a freelance voice coach at ” Singing for the Brain, ” said the sessions have beneficial effects on participants’ cognitive powers, physical ability and emotions.
“Apparently, and there is a lot of research on this topic, that music has the ability to access words. It is so powerful that people who have lost the ability to speak can access the songs and words of the melody, ”he said.
Singing boosts the immune system and well-being
Several studies have found that singing also improves immunity and well-being. One of them, conducted at the University of Frankfurt in Germany, found that choir members had higher levels of immunoglobulin A and cortisol – markers of enhanced immunity – after they sang Mozart’s “Requiem.” Just listening to music does not have this effect.
In another study, members of a choir filled out questionnaires to report their physical and psychological reactions to singing. The showgirls reported:
- Improves lung capacity
- High energy
- Relieves asthma
- Improve posture
- Improve feelings of relaxation, mood, and confidence
Singing and the Arts have become a widely accepted tool of Health
The arts are being featured as a treatment tool in hospitals across the country. In fact, a survey conducted by the Health Arts Society (HSA), Americans for the Arts, and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations found that 68 percent of the hospitals surveyed incorporate some form of health therapy. art in your treatment option.