What's Better For You Than Singing in the Shower? Singing with Friends (not necessarily in the shower of course )!

Do you want relief from depression and anxiety? Respiratory problems? High blood pressure? Loneliness?

Would you like a simple, fun way to reduce your stress levels and get an effective cardiovascular workout that's actually fun?

Then singing is just what the doctor ordered!

There is now a growing body of research which shows that, while singing by yourself has many health benefits (as discussed in my first post, https://steemit.com/health/@eyeofthestorm/are-people-who-sing-in-the-shower-healthier ), singing with others apparently increases these benefits exponentially!

http://g.fastcompany.net

“The Gothenburg researchers proved that with singing we can train our lungs to breathe better; similarly, a study at Cardiff University in 2012 found that lung cancer patients who sang in a choir had a greater expiratory capacity than those who didn’t. Singing has also been shown to boost our immune system, reduce stress levels and, according to a report published in the Journal of Music Therapy in 2004, help patients cope with chronic pain. A joint study by Harvard and Yale Universities in 2008 went one step further, claiming that choral singing in a Connecticut town had increased residents’ life expectancy…”.

TWO HEARTS BEAT AS ONE - GROUP SINGING SYNCHRONIZES HEARTBEATS

That singing is uplifting and relieves depression and anxiety is a well-documented benefit. A study published in the Journal Integrative Physiological and Behavioural Science found that singing promotes the release of pleasure-inducing hormones, such as endorphins and oxytocin, which help reduce stress, boost mood, and balance blood pressure.

Oxytocin is often called the bonding hormone because it plays a role in our ability to form emotional connections with others. Since singing stimulates the release of oxytocin, it gives rise to feelings of camaraderie and friendship with the people we sing with. Positive social interaction and connection is known to be essential to our overall good health and quality of life.
As if all that warm-fuzzy oxytocin wasn't enough though, researchers made the amazing discovery that when people sing together their heartbeats actually become synchronised, beating faster and slower at the same time as they inhale and exhale.

DOCTOR'S ORDERS; JOIN A CHORAL GROUP

Choral singing has been used as music therapy in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices for a number of years now, as the benefits have long been obvious to many health care practitioners, even prior to all the scientific research.

The Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health in England actively researches the value of music, singing and other group-oriented arts activities, in the promotion of health. A year long study they conducted on people with mental health problems found that 60 per cent of participants had less mental distress when retested a year later, and some no longer fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for clinical depression. In other words, they were cured

Grenville Hancox, professor of music at the centre has witnessed firsthand some miraculous improvements in patients suffering from a number of ailments and believes that group singing will soon become a routine prescription.

FINDING PEOPLE TO SING WITH

"If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing." ~ African proverb

It's important to remember that you don't have to have a great voice to reap the rewards of singing, and there are many singing groups that welcome people with any level of vocal ability. The indefatigable Hyacinth Bucket illustrates the point!

If you do have a bit of talent, there are many choirs and vocal groups that would be delighted to have you!

A quick online search will likely show numerous options for singing in your locality. Churches are often in need of people to join their choirs so don't forget that option.

Here are a few links to get you started:

ChoirPlace.com
ChoralNet
Vocal Area Network van.org
garethmalone.com/sing/choirs
vocalist.org.uk/singing_groups.ht
https://www.singers.com/groups.html
singacappella.org
singforyourlife.org

You can even start your own group! Just grab some family, friends and neighbors together. After all, throughout most of human history it's been normal for people to sing together, regularly and often.

Singing was always part of any holiday celebration or get-together and people routinely sang as they worked. It's really only over the last century that we've stopped doing that, which is very sad. I saw a documentary on farm life in the 1800s and it mentioned how the workers harvesting from the cherry trees would sing as they did so, filling the orchard with music. Imagine how beautiful that must have been!

Group singing is less expensive than therapy, safer than pharmaceutical medications, and much more fun than working out! In the words of Ella Fitzgerald, “the only thing better than singing – is more singing”. So let's start singing!

References

Front. Psychol., 09 July 2013 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00334
Music structure determines heart rate variability of singers
Björn Vickhoff1*, Helge Malmgren2, Rickard Åström3, Gunnar Nyberg4, Seth-Reino Ekström5, Mathias Engwall6, Johan Snygg7, Michael Nilsson1,8 and Rebecka Jörnsten9
Effects of group singing and performance for marginalized and middle-class singers
Betty A. Bailey, Jane W. Davidson, Betty A. Bailey, ...
First Published July 1, 2005

J Behav Med. 2004 Dec;27(6):623-35.
Effects of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol, and emotional state.
Kreutz G1, Bongard S, Rohrmann S, Hodapp V, Grebe D.

Evol Psychol. 2012 Oct 22;10(4):688-702.
Performance of music elevates pain threshold and positive affect: implications for the evolutionary function of music.
Dunbar RI1, Kaskatis K, MacDonald I, Barra V.

Integr Physiol Behav Sci. 2003 Jan-Mar;38(1):65-74.
Does singing promote well-being?: An empirical study of professional and amateur singers during a singing lesson.
Grape C1, Sandgren M, Hansson LO, Ericson M, Theorell T.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/10166789/Choral-singing-regulates-heartbeat.html

Psychology of Music
Volume: 41 issue: 4, page(s): 405-421
Article first published online: February 8, 2012;Issue published: July 1, 2013
Corresponding Author: Dr Genevieve Dingle, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia. [email: [email protected]]