 Are you stressed? Are you meta-stressed - stressed about being stressed? Singing might help.
I have experienced it many times: I start a workshop feeling tired and on empty, but I finish feeling energised. I've often heard workshop participants exclaim at the end of a workshop "it’s been so good to be in the moment and forget about what’s happening at home/work for an hour", and "I didn't feel like coming tonight but I made myself come because I always feel better by the end". This is backed up by studies that have found singing releases endorphins and oxytocin and alters emotional states (Fancourt et al, 2016). Singing can also lower levels of our stress hormone, cortisol (Gunter, 2004). The effects of this change in our chemical state has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety and tension in the body, helping us to relax (Balsnes, 2018; Hurst, 2014; Clift and Morrison, 2011). For those that commit to singing regularly, longitudinal studies have tracked a increase in sense of enjoyment and self-confidence, and improved emotional states such as elevated mood and greater emotional and self-awareness (Batt-Rawden and Andersen, 2020), results that have held steady for people in the longer term (Williams et al., 2018). The capacity for singing to bring vitality, happiness and contentment is significant. The potential for singing to empower and delight is ours for the taking. The research is clear: singing is an essential health and life enhancing activity. As part of self-care practice singing is good for the mind and so, good for the body, heart and soul. References Balsnes, A. H. (2018). Singing for a better life: choral singing and public health. In Bonde, L.O. and Theorell, T. (eds), Music and Public Health - A Nordic Perspective. pp. 167–186. Springer Verlag. Batt-Rawden, K, Andersen, S, (2020). ’Singing has empowered, enchanted and enthralled me'-choirs for wellbeing? Health promotion international. 35. Clift, S. and Morrison, I. (2011) Group singing fosters mental health and wellbeing: findings from the East Kent “singing for health” network project. Mental Health and Social Inclusion,15, 88–97. Fancourt, D., Williamon, A., Carvalho, L. A., Steptoe, A., Dow, R. and Lewis, I. (2016) Singing modulates mood, stress, cortisol, cytokine and neuropeptide activity in cancer patients and carers. Ecancermedicalscience, 10, 1–14. Gunter, K. (2004) Effects of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol and emotional state. Journal of Behavioural Medicine,27, 623–635. Hurst, K. (2014). Singing is good for you: an examination of the relationship between singing, health and well-being. Canadian Music Educator, 55(4), 18+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A449315929/AONE?u=anon~805167a5&sid=googleScholar&xid=79e821a8 Williams, E., Dingle, G. and Clift, S. (2018) A systematic review of mental health and wellbeing outcomes of group singing for adults with a mental health condition. European Journal of Public Health, 28, 1035–1042.  Most people want to sing. I'm always amazed when I hear people's stories. Particularly those who have been criticised and humiliated in childhood. Some were told "I hope you can whistle because you sure can't sing". Others were admitted to choirs at school, then asked to lip-sync. Yet, people don't give up. They still want to sing. There's some good science behind why this may be the case. Singing is a bit like a massage for the whole brain and who doesn't want more of that?
Speech activates the left hemisphere’s language network. Singing activates both left and right hemispheres of the brain, engaging many more of the brain’s networks. This includes the areas associated with auditory, motor, memory, organisation, planning, and emotional function. On top of this, it activates the reward system. It just gets better! In the left hemisphere, singing the lyrics of a song activates the Broca’s area of the brain associated with producing and articulating speech. It also activates the Wernicke’s area responsible for language comprehension. Singing necessitates control of the vocal cords and larynx. To achieve these specific vocal movements, we engage the premotor cortex and primary motor cortex (M1). Our inferior frontal lobe is also activated as we continuously monitor and modulate the tone of our voice. In the right hemisphere we use the right temporal lobe within the auditory cortex area. This enables us to process the rhythm and melody when we sing. Within the temporal lobe we also engage the amygdala. This is associated with our emotional response to singing. The Parietal lobe allows us to sense and perceive our posture, muscles and breath as we sing. More generally, we apply our creativity and intuition as part of the process of singing from the right hemisphere of the brain. Why does it feels so good? Because when we sing, the body releases dopamine, one of the feel-good hormones. This activates the brain's reward system and so we feel a sense of well-being, pleasure, even bliss. Singing activates our cognitive and motor function across a number of different brain regions. As a result we experience the magical interplay between language, music and emotion. |
AuthorCharlotte Robinson Archives
November 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
