Singing and Your Health
Having spent over 27 years working with people therapeutically, I am often asked “What things can I do myself, outside of therapy, to keep myself healthy?” Of course, I would often give the standard answers such as exercise regularly, and/or engage in self hypnosis or mindfulness meditation and these things of course are very useful in helping clients to maintain a positive mental attitude and to foster good health overall.
Recent research has added another novel way to keep healthy. That is to sing in a choir. Choir singing has been showed to help lower stress levels, as well as other very useful ways to keep healthy. Choir singing also promotes connectedness. In this regard, this is a connected purpose where one is part of something which promotes a goal as well as fun and friendship. These factors alone can assist a person in feeling better about themselves.
Choir singing also releases chemicals in the body which aid good mental health. Chemicals like endorphins, oxytocin and dopamine are released when singing in a choir and these chemicals in their correct levels are essential in our good mental health.
As a therapist, it is nice for me to be able to say to clients in order to help maintain the work we are doing, go out and sing and song or two.
