A while ago I wrote an article on what I love about getting sick. But there is an ENORMOUS drawback about getting sick enough I can’t sing… beyond the obvious not being able to sing.
And that is not being able to sing and work on my voice every day seriously impacts on my mental wellbeing.
When I get to sing everyday, the mental, physical and emotional levelling that occurs is really quite remarkable. The difference in my mood when I can use my voice well vs when I can’t… I am GRUMPY when I cannot sing or work on my voice.
But why should this be?
The answer has actually been revealed in many studies done over the years. So I thought I’d cover a few of these here, some of which are quoted from this article.
Your brain gets into a higher state
I notice how elated and positive I feel before, during and especially after a good session of singing and working on my voice. But is it just in my head, or is something else going on?
“There is also some research which suggests that singing could have similar effects to cannabis. Endocannabinoids are a newly discovered class of chemical compounds naturally found in the body and which have similar actions to the active component of the cannabis plant. One study involving a group of women over 50 found that singing in a choir increased levels of endocannabinoids in their blood by a whopping 42%!”
Well, I have never used cannabis nor would I ever suggest that people do it, but this would explain the strong elational high we get to experience when using our voices both individually and in groups. This is made even more enjoyable when we get to make a sound we ourselves find pleasing.
Boosts your immune system
Even the act of PHYSICALLY feeling good whilst singing is connected to the body’s response to singing…
“One of the most surprising findings of recent research is that singing in a group, for as little as one hour, could boost your immune system. One 2004 study which compared the impact of singing with the effects of listening to music, found that those who sang produced higher levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody which acts as an important first line of defence for the immune system.”
“Dr Fancourt, who has led several studies looking at singing and the effects on our immune system, has found that just single sessions of singing in a choir can lead to reductions in chronic inflammation.”
This isn’t something I’ve got first hand experience of… in fact, sitting and playing at a piano for 5-10 hours a day can often bring with it it’s own share of discomfort and inflammation! But the fact that singing even influences our immunoglobulin levels is truly astounding.
Reduces depression and loneliness, even when singing by yourself
Dr Fancourt also found the following: “[that] singing can help people with mental health conditions. In one study involving women with postnatal depression, they found that women participating in singing programmes reduced their symptoms by 40% in just a few weeks.”
“Singing can have a myriad of profound psychological and biological effects. It can help build our self-confidence, reduce loneliness, and impact levels of anxiety, “and these all occur alongside things like decreases in blood pressure, decreases in muscle tension, decreases in heart rate, and the activation of reward pathways in the brain,” says Dr Fancourt. She says it has even led to things like improvements in lung function in people with lung disease, and even improvements in posture.”
This makes so much sense to me. Having experienced quite severe depression in the past, one of the great regulators of low mood in my day-to-day is enjoyment and singing. Even if I have a day where I do not see anyone other than my wife and daughter, I do not feel in any way lonely or down if I have been able to sing to my heart’s content at some point in the day.
So this has been my own personal empirical experience, but to see it backed up in such studies is really quite remarkable.
Conclusion: Sing a little every day
The study and article concludes by pointing out that singing is easy to do, and you can do it almost anywhere you like… depending on how much others hearing you sing bothers you.
The benefits to singing and working on your voice are myriad. Unbelievable chemical signals seem to get triggered by the act of singing, and your brain and body are hugely benefitted by the regular act of singing and building your voice.
So if you’re feeling a bit down, a bit low, or maybe feeling a bit under the weather, get those pipes going. Go and do some singing for even 5 minutes, and see how you feel. I’m willing to bet you’ll feel at least a LITTLE better for having done so.