“Sing, and you’ll feel better,” is a familiar expression in Italian and, like many such sayings, it is based on scientific evidence. But how, exactly, does it make you feel better? Numerous studies have proven the positive impacts of choral singing on mental, social and physical health and well-being. Let's take a look at them.
A study conducted by Yale and Harvard Universities in Connecticut has revealed that the average population age in cities that have choirs is considerably higher. Choral singing can be particularly beneficial for promoting healthy ageing processes: not only does it offer a way to prevent social isolation among the elderly, but it can also improve memory and concentration.
It has been scientifically proven, in fact, that grey-matter volume in certain regions of the right brain hemisphere linked to memory increases in people who sing. It is no coincidence that both the British Alzheimer’s Society and the Alzheimer’s Association in the United States use singing as a way to help patients and their caregivers. Specifically, it has been shown that singing offers many cognitive benefits for people suffering from mental health conditions. In particular, singing in a choir has been shown to be extremely effective in the treatment of depression, as seen in Music and Motherhood, a project designed to support new mothers’ emotional well-being, fighting postpartum depression through group singing. The project, promoted and coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, using a pilot study in England that was subsequently conducted in countries with different cultures (Denmark, Romania and Italy), involved research operations in the field, whose results have recently been published in high-impact journals.
The benefits of singing
In terms of overall health, the evidence shows that singing boosts immune system functionality: singing for one hour increases a person's levels of cytokines, proteins produced by the immune system, as revealed in a study by the Tenovus Cancer Care Centre in collaboration with the Royal College of Music in London. Particular benefits of signing also include positive effects on cardiac health.
Singing also offers opportunities to work on one's breathing, slowing it down. Breathing correctly promotes oxygenation and lowers blood pressure, as a study by the American College of Rheumatology has shown.
Singing is, in fact, a sort of guided breathing that affects heart rate variability (HRV) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), the variability in natural heart rate that occurs during a respiratory cycle. A study has revealed that the combination of these elements helps with cardiovascular function, in addition to biologically inducing a calming effect. Correct breathing also stimulates function of the vagus nerve, which regulates mood, sleep and appetite.
Singing requires good posture—it affects bodily perception, balance, and relaxation, loosening tension in the neck and shoulders—and it exercises the facial muscles, often overlooked and allowed to stiffen. These physical benefits clearly have repercussions on psychological and social levels, and vice versa. Numerous studies have reported that signing in a choir releases endorphins and serotonin, considered the “happiness hormones”, which activate synapses, relaxing individuals who sing and freeing them from their inhibitions.
A study conducted by the University of California tested the levels of cortisol (a hormone released in stressful situations) in a number of subjects before and after they participated in choral singing. It revealed that singing leads to a drop in cortisol levels, with a consequent increase in positive thoughts and satisfaction.
Given that it is a group activity, singing in a choir inevitably fosters strong relationships between participants, not only socially, but biologically as well. A study conducted in Sweden has shown that the heart rate variability among singers within the same choir tends to align.
Singing as a resource for cultural and social integration
Does this work across all cultures? An important example of the physical, psychological and social benefits of signing in a choir is that of the Barolo Arti per la Comunità (Barolo Arts for the Community), or BAC, in Italy, a public engagement project under the auspices of the University of Turin, which has launched a study on this topic. A review of literature about choirs as a tool for the integration of foreigners, published by CELSI (the Central European Labour Studies Institute), went hand-in-hand with the creation of the project Bread and Roses, a multi-ethnic choir for women from different cultures and generations intended to support their well-being, to improve their life skills and to help them work on their identities as women and their role in present-day society.
This study revealed that, for migrants, actively participating in a choir leads to psychological well-being, greater self-esteem and a sense of self-sufficiency, which encourages people to cope with day-to-day problems in a more constructive manner and to improve their relationships with others in their country of destination.
When people from different cultures sing together, it also allows them to overcome stereotypes by sharing the same music, which brings them together and makes it possible to see beyond their differences. What’s more, music can help people integrate into a new culture and foster a sense of belonging within a community.
The review does, however, tell us that the studies conducted often provide little specific information about the types of activities involved (how they are organized, the hours at which they are conducted, how the members of choirs and the music they sing are selected, information about choir directors), which makes it harder to specifically identify and recreate those choral activities that can be beneficial. Furthermore, the research conducted to date has some weaknesses; in particular, there are very few randomised trials, and these have few participants.
Singing is truly a possibility for everyone
Choral singing is a powerful health resource that anyone can easily access, without significant linguistic or physical barriers.
With regard to the idea of being tone-deaf or out-of-tune, the statistics are reassuring: a study has shown that just 5% of people are actually tone-deaf.
The remaining 95% are likely to be simply untrained, in the sense that they do not know how to use their voices to sing, but they could learn.
As recommended by the University of Turin literature review, in order to learn more, we must invest in rigorous studies into this promising area, in order to transform these community resources, whose effectiveness in pursuing numerous quality-of-life goals has already been shown through ample evidence, into a framework for social prescribing.
By Catterina Seia (Presidente CCW – Cultural Welfare Centre) and Marta Reichlin (PhD, Cultural Welfare Center (CCW), Research Area)
