The BBC explains why singing is good for your health

December has arrived and, with it, a certain widespread desire to sing. It’s natural, it’s the festive atmosphere and, although not everyone likes Christmas tunes, Christmas lovers could be right: singing is good for us, even unconsciously.

From the brain to the heart, singing has been found to bring a wide range of benefits to those who do it, especially when in a group. It can bring people together, prepare our bodies to deal with illnesses, and even suppress pain. The BBC reports it, which collects the opinions of various scholars such as Alex Streetresearcher at the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research: “Singing is a cognitive, physical, emotional and social act.” Street studies, among other things, how music can be used to help children and adults recover from brain injuries.

Psychologists have long marveled at how people who sing together can develop a strong sense of social cohesion. Research has shown that complete strangers can form unusually close bonds after singing together for an hour. Perhaps it is less surprising that singing brings clear physical benefits to the lungs and respiratory system. Some researchers, for example, have used singing to help people suffering from lung diseases.

Healing vibrations

Singing also produces others measurable physical effects. It has been found to improve heart rate and blood pressure. Singing in a group or choir strengthens our immune system in ways that simply listening to the same music cannot reproduce.

There are several explanations. From a biological point of view, singing is thought to activate the vagus nerve, which is directly connected to the vocal cords and muscles at the back of the throat. The prolonged, controlled exhalation associated with singing also releases endorphins associated with pleasure, well-being and pain reduction.

Singing activates a wide network of neurons on both cerebral hemispheres, turning on the regions that manage language, movement and emotions. This, combined with the attention to breathing required by singing, makes it an effective stress reliever. “Feel-good responses become evident in clearer voices, facial expressions, and postures,” says Street.

There may also be deeper reasons for these benefits. Some anthropologists believe that ours hominid ancestors have learned to sing even before speaking, using vocalizations to imitate the sounds of nature or express emotions. This may have played a key role in the development of complex social dynamics, emotional expression and rituals, and Street points out that it is no coincidence that singing is part of every human’s life, regardless of whether or not they are musically inclined. Our brain and body are made for respond positively to singingsince birth. “Lullabies are sung to children, and then songs are sung at funerals,” says the scholar. “We learn the multiplication tables by singing and the alphabet through rhythmic and melodic structure.”

Unity is strength

Singing in a group brings more benefits than singing solo. For this reason, educational researchers have used singing as a tool to promote cooperation, language development, and emotional regulation in children. Around the world, researchers have studied the effects of joining community choirs dedicated to cancer and stroke survivors, people with Parkinson’s disease and dementia and their caregivers. Result: Singing improves the articulation ability of Parkinson’s patients, something they are known to struggle with as the disease progresses.

“Singing is a physical activity and may have some parallel benefits to exercise,” says Adam Lewis, associate professor of respiratory physiotherapy at the University of Southampton. One study even suggested that singing, along with various vocal exercises used by professional singers to perfect pitch and rhythm, is a workout for the heart and lungs comparable to walking moderate pace on a treadmill.

“There is more and more evidence about cognitive benefits of singing in older adults,” says Teppo Särkämö, professor of neuropsychology at the University of Helsinki. “We still know little, however, about the potential of singing to actually slow or prevent cognitive decline, as this would require large-scale studies with years of follow-up.”

“We are discovering a lot, especially in brain injury rehabilitation. Studies are emerging that show that singing can have these effects, even on people with severe injuries. It makes sense that we can get so many benefits from it, because singing has always done a fundamental role in connecting communities” says Street.