Is singing good for you? The simple answer to this question is a resounding ‘yes’. Singing is brilliant for your health – here are five reasons why…
A study by the Royal College of Music from 2015 shows that listening to music and singing decreases stress levels. Listening to music in a concert setting “leads to a decrease in stress hormones and negative mood states, while simultaneously increasing positive mood states”. Find out about our next concert now – doctor’s orders!
Singing in a choir specifically is proven to combat loneliness – avoiding this is an often overlooked way to improve mental wellbeing. In a study by the University of Leicester, 86% of participants said that their feelings of loneliness were reduced when they sang in a choir with their work colleagues.
For those who have dementia, singing is incredibly beneficial. In this NHS article, you can see that singing reduces anxiety and depression, helps maintain speech and language, and can also improve the mood of carers, which directly impacts those they’re caring for. We run workshops to help those with dementia every summer – to find out when those are happening, click here. If you’re looking for a workshop outside of summer, you can find a search tool here from the Alzheimer’s Society, which lists all of the groups designed to help those with dementia.
Singing has immediate physical benefits, too. To sing correctly, we need to use the entire capacity of our lungs – this is something that we rarely do in everyday life so singing gives us a great opportunity to give our lungs a workout! Singing can work as a form of physiotherapy for those who have difficulty breathing – you can read all about that in this guide from Lung Health England here.
Choirs are full of like-minded people – you’re off to a good start when making friends if you have similar interests, and those that you meet in choirs are bound to enjoy singing. This has been true throughout time all over the world – this study from Oxford University suggests that singing might be an ‘evolved behaviour for community cohesion.’
So it’s agreed – singing is good for you and singing in a choir can provide additional benefits when compared to singing alone. If you’re interested in joining a choir but aren’t sure where to start, you can find out how to join a local choir and what it might entail here.
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