Singing: your stress antidote

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.