The Benefits of a Guitar String and Song to Sing
We’ve all done it before. We get into our cars after a bad day at school or work and we blast, I mean… listen to at a very reasonable level, our stereos. We sing along to all of our favorite songs. Suddenly, we feel much better about ourselves. Why is this?
image courtesy of: the karaoke channel
According to More Music Please1, there are several benefits of singing. These include:
- Mood Enhancement
- Increased feelings of well-being
- Increase in positive feelings
But why is our mood enhanced when we sing along to music? We have only our brain to thank. When we listen to and sing along with our favorite tracks, endorphins are released throughout the brain2. According to How Stuff Works,3 “[e]ndorphins act as both a painkiller and as the pay-off for your body’s reward system.” Basically,endorphins make you feel very good. They come in handy when you break a leg, but are in a life threatening situation that causes you to have to ignore the pain and keep walking. Because our brain releases these endorphins while listening to music, it causes us to feel really, really good.
When we sing, our brain also releases oxytocin. Oxytocin is a hormone that reduces stress, anxiety, and relieves nerves4. According to an article in Time Magazine, oxytocin also increases feelings of trust4. If you are more relaxed, you will feel better about your day. The reduction in anxiety will help you feel like things at work or school will be better tomorrow. Also, the increased feelings in trust may help you really believe that the day will get better. Anyone can tell you that your day will get better, but you’re only going to feel good about it if you believe it will get better.
So next time you feel horrible about your day, whether it’s because your students received the lowest averages on their first test you’ve seen in four years, or because you were the student who received a low grade on their first test, just remember to sing along to your favorite song! (Dancing would probably be beneficial too, but don’t go too hard- you might pull a muscle!)
Sources:
1. http://www.moresingingplease.com/benefits-of-singing
2. http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/singing-happy1.htm
3. http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/exercise-happiness2.htm
4. http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/16/singing-changes-your-brain/
(these are all hyperlinked in the text, which open in new windows, so feel free to explore!)
This was an amazing blog that I found super interesting! I am one of those people who is guilty of singing very loud when I am alone. I had no idea there was a science behind it but it’s really cool to see that there is! I never knew why singing in the shower, or putting on my power jam on in the car to sing to why it makes me feel like I am on top of the world or something. Now I know for next time that if I am feeling so good it is because of the hormone Oxytocin. I wonder if there are other activities similar to singing that have the same effects on the body. I would love to see more research done on mood and experimental experiments on happiness level of people who do such activities
I really like this article! As someone who likes to sing but has never been good at it, it’s nice to know that even if other people can’t enjoy my singing, I can benefit myself! I also believe oxytocin is the “cuddle hormone” that is released during sex or child birth in order to bond you to another person (http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/oxytocin). That’s interesting that that hormone would be connected with our comfort level and singing in front of others. I wonder how people like Beyonce feel after singing in front of millions of people! This is really interesting and I feel that it may only be the tip of the iceberg, if we can look more into why oxytocin has a pivotal role.