Sing Your Way to Health

I am a singer. This is not an appraisal of my ability or a fact about my profession but rather a description of my nature. Although none of my immediate family was musical, my grandparents hailed from Wales, the “land of song,” where according to my grandmother, everyone could sing. She said that before I could talk or walk, I hummed with her when she sang me lullabies.

Singing makes me happy but I didn’t know that it also makes me healthy. Recent studies have shown that singing has psychological and physiological benefits that help people cope with cancer. Researchers looked at a small group of cancer survivors who participated in choir singing for a period of 3 months. During that period survivors noted an improvement in:
• Vitality
• Social functioning
• Mental health, and
• Bodily pain

Survivors who participated also had a trend toward less anxiety and depression and improved lung function. Singing can have the same benefits as exercise—a release of endorphins resulting in stress reduction. Additionally, if you employ correct breathing techniques, you have the benefit of increased lung capacity. You can enjoy these benefits even if you sing alone—though group singing has the advantage of increased social interaction.

If you like to sing, look for opportunities to join a group—a church or community choir, Sweet Adelines or Barbershop Harmony Society. How about taking some voice lessons that you never had time for when you were younger? Not ready for the big time? Turn on the radio and sing your heart out in the privacy of your car. "Remember if it's not good enough for anyone esle to hear, just sing. Sing a song. Sing out loud. Sing out strong.”