Singing makes you happy because it triggers certain processes in the brain that increase our well-being. You can find out exactly how this works in this article.
Whether in the shower, at choir rehearsals or alone at the piano – we usually associate singing with a feeling of happiness and contentment. And this is now confirmed by research. Singing not only makes you happy, but should also strengthen our cohesion among each other and our immune system.
Singing makes you happy: thanks to endorphins
When we sing, our brain releases a series of hormones that make people feel happy, according to BR. These include endorphin, serotonin and dopamine. One of the most important hormones seems to be oxytocin. This hormone is also increasingly released in the brain when we sing. It lowers our stress levels and increases our well-being.
The online magazine Spektrum describes that researchers analyzed the connection between singing and well-being in more detail as part of a television documentary from 2013. They examined the oxytocin levels of 36 choir members – once after a normal choir rehearsal and once after a discussion round. The result: In both cases, the oxytocin levels were increased – but after singing, they were significantly higher again.
Singing makes you happy because it changes the concentration of hormones and thus triggers well-being and reduces stress. The musicologist Dr. Thomas Schinköth also explains to the MDR that it is particularly easy for us to immerse ourselves in a completely different world while singing and to slow down and distance ourselves from our own everyday lives.
This is how singing affects our circulation
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Singing not only makes you happy, it is also healthy. According to Spektrum, it also stimulates our cardiovascular system. This is mainly due to breathing. This is how we breathe more intensively and efficiently when we sing. This ensures that the metabolism is boosted and organs are better supplied with blood.
According to the BR, we consciously breathe into our stomachs and less through our chests when we sing. This causes our diaphragm to lower when we breathe in. This gives our lungs more space. In addition, when we breathe from the abdomen, we also activate the lower parts of our lungs.
According to the BR, singing is therefore about as effective as stretching exercises or light sport. About ten to fifteen minutes would be enough to get our circulation going.
Singing has a relaxing effect on the nervous system
The efficient deep breathing while singing is not only good for the circulatory system, but also activates the parasympathetic nervous system in the brain, according to Spektrum. The parasympathetic is the antagonist of the sympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system is activated in stressful situations. It prepares our body for a flight or fight situation. For example, it ensures that the heart beats faster and intestinal activity is reduced.
The parasympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, ensures regeneration, rest and the build-up of reserves in the body. According to the BR, both parts of the nervous system should be as balanced as possible. However, a stressful everyday life can ensure that our parasympathetic nervous system is neglected. Singing helps with that too. This is activated by deep breathing. As a result, our blood pressure drops, the heart beats slower and we become more relaxed and calm.
Singing makes you happy: Through cohesion and belonging
(Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / StockSnap)
Singing makes us particularly happy when we sing together with others, for example in a choir, according to the musicologist Dr. Thomas Schinköth to the MDR. In this way, we would experience ourselves as social beings in a particularly strong way when singing in a choir. Spektrum also confirms that singing together gives us a feeling of belonging and cohesion. After all, we listen to each other and feel recognized and needed in our role.
A study by Oxford University from 2015 also shows that singing strengthens interpersonal contact. The study shows that the participants warmed up to each other much more quickly if they had already recovered together. This effect was significantly stronger than just ordinary small talk.
Singing and our immune system
Last but not least, singing also strengthens our immune system. According to a 2004 study, singing causes the levels of the hormone immunoglobin A to rise in the blood. According to the MDR, this hormone helps to fight off pathogens. This could be an indication that singing also strengthens our immune system.
Whether people who sing regularly actually get sick less often needs to be investigated more closely.
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