Flow state, exercise and healthy ageing: 5 unexpected benefits of singing
<p>Singing with others feels amazing. Group singing <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00549-0">promotes social bonding</a> and has been <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03057356211042668">shown to</a> raise oxytocin (the “bonding hormone”) and decrease cortisol (the “stress hormone”).</p>
<p>But it’s not just about singing in groups. There are many unexpected ways singing is good for you, even if you’re on your own.</p>
<p>Singing is a free and accessible activity which can help us live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives.</p>
<p>And before you protest you are “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1360.018">tone deaf</a>” and “can’t sing”, research shows <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429420951630">most people</a> can sing accurately in tune, so let’s warm up those voices and get singing.</p>
<h2>1. Singing gets you in the zone</h2>
<p>If you’ve ever lost track of time while doing something slightly challenging but enjoyable, you’ve likely experienced <a href="https://www.headspace.com/articles/flow-state">the flow state</a>. Some people refer to this feeling as being “in the zone”.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model/">positive psychology</a>, flow, or deep engagement in a task, is considered one of the key elements of well-being.</p>
<p>Research has shown singing can induce the flow state in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0305735619899137">expert singers</a> and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00518/full">group singing</a>.</p>
<p>One way to get into this flow state is through improvisation.</p>
<p>Try your hand at some <a href="https://psyche.co/ideas/the-jazz-singers-mind-shows-us-how-to-improvise-through-life-itself">vocal improvisation</a> by picking one phrase in a song you know well and playing around with it. You can improvise by slightly changing the melody, rhythm, even the lyrics.</p>
<p>You may well find yourself lost in your task – if you don’t realise this until afterwards, it is a sign you’ve been in flow.</p>
<h2>2. Singing gets you in touch with your body</h2>
<p>Singers make music with the body. Unlike instrumentalists, singers have no buttons to push, no keys to press and no strings to pluck.</p>
<p>Singing is a deeply <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10298649211062730">embodied activity</a>: it reminds us to get in touch with our whole selves. When you’re feeling stuck in your head, try singing your favourite song to reconnect with your body.</p>
<p>Focus on your breathing and the physical sensations you can feel in your throat and chest.</p>
<p>Singing is also a great way to raise your awareness of any physical tensions you may be holding in your body, and there is increasing interest in the intersection between <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0305735617729452">singing and mindfulness</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Singing as exercise</h2>
<p>We often forget singing is a fundamentally physical task which most of us can do reasonably well.</p>
<p>When we sing, we are making music with the larynx, the vocal tract and other articulators (including your tongue, lips, soft and hard palates and teeth) and the respiratory system.</p>
<p>Just as we might jog to improve our cardiovascular fitness, we can exercise the voice to improve our singing. <a href="http://thevoiceworkshop.com/somatic-voicework/">Functional voice training</a> helps singers understand and use their voice according to optimal physical function.</p>
<p>Singing is increasingly being used to help improve <a href="https://www.jvoice.org/article/S0892-1997(16)30442-8/fulltext">respiratory health</a> for a wide range of health conditions, including those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson’s, asthma and cancer.</p>
<p>Because singing provides such a great workout for the respiratory system, it is even being used <a href="https://www.eno.org/eno-breathe/about-the-eno-breathe-programme/">to help people</a> suffering from long COVID.</p>
<h2>4. Singing builds psychological resources</h2>
<p>Group singing can help combat social isolation and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0733464815577141">create new social connections</a>, help people <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0305735620944230">cope with caring burdens</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2019.1624584">enhance mental health</a>.</p>
<p>Studies show these psychological benefits flow because group singing promotes new social identities.</p>
<p>When we sing with others we identify with, we build inner resources like belonging, meaning and purpose, social support, efficacy and agency.</p>
<h2>5. Singing for “super-ageing”</h2>
<p>“<a href="https://ana-neurosurgery.com/want-to-be-a-superager/">Super-agers</a>” are people around retirement age and older whose cognitive abilities (such as memory and attention span) <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/36/37/9659">remain youthful</a>.</p>
<p>Research conducted by distinguished psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett and her lab suggest the best-known way to become a superager is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/31/opinion/sunday/how-to-become-a-superager.html?referringSource=articleShare">to work hard at something</a>.</p>
<p>Singing requires the complex coordination of various physical components — and that’s just to make a sound! The artistic dimension of singing includes memorisation and interpretation of lyrics and melodies, understanding and being able to hear the underlying musical harmony, sensing rhythm and much more.</p>
<p>These characteristics of singing make it an ideal candidate as a super-ageing activity.</p>
<p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>
<p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/flow-state-exercise-and-healthy-ageing-5-unexpected-benefits-of-singing-180415" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>
