There may be a hidden benefit to using something that we’re born with: our voices. While humans have been singing forever, with some theories linking singing to the earliest uses of our voices, more recent research suggests surprising health benefits to singing in community with others.
With biohacking tips and tricks more popular than ever, you may be able to skip the cold plunge and try singing with your local choir instead. In a study titled It’s Better Together: The Psychological Benefits of Singing in a Choir, researchers Nick Alan Joseph Stewart and Adam Jonathan Lonsdale compared choral singing with two other relevant leisure activities: solo singing and playing a team sport.
The researchers used measures of self-reported well-being, entitativity (a sense of group cohesion), need fulfillment, and motivation. Questionnaire data from the 375 participants showed that those who sang in a choir and played team sports reported much higher psychological well-being than those who engaged in these activities alone. They state that “membership of a group may be a more important influence on the psychological well-being experienced by choral singers than singing.” These results suggest that being part of a social group, as well as activating our bodies in community with others, could profoundly affect our mental health.
Physiological reasons may also explain why singing is beneficial. Singing affects the vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve, which runs from the brainstem down through the neck, chest, and abdomen, connecting the brain to the heart, lungs, and gut. It plays an important role in the parasympathetic nervous system, helping regulate functions such as heart rate and digestion. The controlled breathing involved in singing may stimulate vagal activity, much in the same way that deep breathing can help calm your heart rate. Singing also activates numerous neural pathways across the brain and has been associated with the release of feel-good endorphins.
Ultimately, the benefits of singing may come from a combination of what happens within our bodies and what happens between us. Singing encourages controlled breathing and engages the body, while singing with others adds connection, synchronization, and belonging. So, while the latest wellness trend may promise a new way to optimize your health, one surprisingly simple option has been with us all along.
While humans have been singing forever, research has more recently shown surprising health benefits to singing in community with others.
Source: Singing with Other People Improves Health More Than Singing Alone
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