It doesn’t matter how good you are, whenever we hear a song that we love or a tune that reminds us of a special time - it is hard not to sing along. Despite our range of abilities, it appears we all understand something positive - almost therapeutic comes out of the act of singing.
Fortunately, this feeling isn’t just anecdotal and there has been some interesting scientific research that backs up these sentiments. Both our body and mind benefit.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the physical and mental health benefits associated with singing.
9 benefits of singing
Song has been a part of civilisation for centuries and there has been decades of research into the benefits of singing individually and in groups. Let’s unpack them and their relevance to our work at IHAVOC.
1. Relieves Stress
Cortisol is the stress hormone that we all have in our bodies. A 2017 study examined the levels of cortisol in participants saliva before and after they sang.
Research showed that stress hormone levels are lower after some tonal voice work which gives an indication that people feel more relaxed after singing. Importantly, these benefits are experienced in participants who sang in groups or by themselves.
2. Stimulates the immune response
Certainly relevant at the moment during the Covid-19 pandemic, evidence suggests that singing can help improve your immune system and help combat illness.
When comparing the effects of singing compared to listening to music, a 2004 study confirmed that those who sang showed higher levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody that our body secretes to help fend off infections.
Interestingly, just listening to music didn’t trigger this same response.
3. Increases Pain Threshold
Fortunately, this benefit is only experienced when singing in groups like our IHAVOC choir groups.
When joining in chorus with other members (both large and small groups), the act of collective singing causes the release of the feel good hormones in our body. Endorphins help promote feelings of positivity and even change our perception of pain.
A 2012 study found that singing, percussion, and dancing in a group triggers the release of hormones that raise your pain tolerance in ways that just listening to music doesn’t.
Researchers note that the feelings of social connection, rather than the music itself, seems to be behind the boost in pain tolerance.
4. May improve snoring
Sleep is one of the most important parts of our day and provide an opportunity for our brains and bodies to recover, learn and re-energise for the coming day.
Singing has been shown to change the way you breathe, even when you are not singing.
Snoring is one of the main challenges to productive sleeping and a study conducted in 2008 claimed that significantly fewer choir members snored at night. Similarly, musicians that played wood wind instruments also experienced fewer snores throughout a regular night’s sleep.
It has prompted some experts to suggest singing as a helpful remedy for people with obstructive sleep apnea which causes snoring.
5. Improves Lung Function
When belting out a tune, it isn’t uncommon if we are really getting into it, we can feel out of breath.
Singing involves deep breathing and the controlled use of muscles in the respiratory system. It may also be beneficial for certain lung and breathing conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis and many others.
Don’t get us wrong, singing doesn’t treat or cure any of these conditions but may assist with gaining strength in our muscles responsible for breathing.
Additionally, the amount of oxygen in our blood increases when singing. As well as the addition of the benefits to our lungs, the increased oxygen helps improve mood and if singing in groups, promotes a greater sense of social connection.
6. Develops a sense of belonging and connectedness
We all like feeling like we belong and are connected with our peers. When singing with others, you are likely to feel the same level of friendship and bond with players of a sporting team.
Research conducted in 2014, studied over 11,000 school aged children to discover that singing and musical engagement programs developed a strong sense of community and social inclusion.
This isn’t just experienced in young people, a study carried out in 2016 that involved 375 adults found that people who sing together in a group reported a higher sense of wellbeing and meaningful connection than people who sing solo.
7. Helps with Grief
We explored earlier how singing can help improve our tolerance to physical pain. Benefits also extend to group singers to help reduce emotional pain, particularly after the loss of a loved one.
In a 2019 study conducted among people dealing with grief, researchers found that those who sang in a choir experienced significantly lower depressive symptoms and their sense of wellbeing remained more stable during times of grief.
Researchers concluded that group singing may be a good option for people who need additional support during a time of grief.
8. Improves mental health and mood
Researchers found during a 2018 study that participants reported improvements in their mental health, mood, sense of well-being, and feeling of belonging as a result of singing workshops.
Singing has been proven to increase oxygen levels, endorphins and other hormones responsible for positive mental health. Meaningful connection to singing groups help promote self esteem and improved feelings of self worth.
9. Helps improve speaking abilities
Singing has been proven to stimulate multiple areas of the brain at the same time. Research indicates that it may enable people with an impairment in one part of the brain to communicate using other areas of their brain.
Singing can also prolong the sounds in each word, which may make it easier to pronounce them.
Singing also makes it easier to incorporate hand-tapping, a method that can help people maintain speaking rhythms that are otherwise challenging.
What this means for our program?
Singing was chosen deliberately as a vehicle for personal development in the lives of children in our program to help combat examples of disadvantage they have faced or will face in the future. We use our singing groups to build self esteem, positive mental health and confidence that help develop connection and community in our groups.
Find out more about our specific programs here.