Singers are happier

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Ever since I hurt my ankle and couldn’t stand up to perform anymore, I’ve been really, really unhappy. I miss singing, a lot. I decided I have to figure out a way to do it, and now that I’ve read this, this is just more motivation:

Research shows that just about any type of singing, professional or otherwise, can make people happier, more trusting, and less anxious.

Yeah. Think about it! If you sing with your friends or some random strangers, you feel better afterwards, like you feel complete in a way but yet you want more. You see that it’s the one thing you all have in common and are expressing it together. As humans, we all normally want to belong. To a group, a clique, a family, ANYTHING. It’s in our nature. Which is to say: Singing makes people better friends.

Singing can be as beneficial as yoga, according to Björn Vickhoff, a researcher at Sweden’s University of Gothenberg who observed the heartbeats of 15 teenagers as they sang in unison. The regulated, controlled breathing that occurs while singing is similar to yoga breathing, he said. “It helps you relax, and there are indications it does provide a heart benefit.” That’s largely because singing releases endorphins, “the brain’s naturally occurring opiates,” which are also released during exercise and can make people feel euphoric. So basically our brains create our own drugs. Well. Researchers in the U.K. have also found that active performance of music — expressive, uninterrupted singing while clapping or dancing, for example — can increase a person’s tolerance for pain, suggesting that endorphins were being released in large quantities. That’s why I try to help people exercising by playing “Eye of the Tiger” near them.