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Why Singing is Surprisingly Good for your Health


    This article got my attention for it's health and social benefits as my Granddaughter sings in 3 different choirs and my daughter was in a high school choir.

     

    Fortunately they didn't inherit my inability to carry a tune.

    So I've included an alternative for you and me at the end of this Bonus. (Peggy)

     

    It's that time of year when people are singing traditional songs from "Jingle Bells" to "O Holy NIght" and giving their own health a boost in the process.

     

    From Your Brain to the Your Heart

    "Singing is a cognitive, physical, emotional and social act"

     

    Psychologists have long marvelled at how people who sing together can develop a powerful sense of social cohesion, with even among the most reluctant of vocalists becoming united in song. Research has shown that complete strangers can forge unusually close bonds after singing together for an hour.

     

    Measurable Physical Benefits

    "Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are clear physical benefits for the lungs and respiratory system from singing.

     

    Some researchers have been using singing to help people with lung diseases

    and

    Rehabilitation from brain injury

    "The studies are just starting to emerge which are showing that singing can have these effects, even for people with significant injury. Singing can be a way to achieve the hours of repetition that are needed to create new connectivity in the brain, for example between the hemispheres."

    Singing and Your Neurobiology

     

    From a biological standpoint, it's thought that singing:

     

    1. Activates the vagus nerve which is directly connected to the vocal cords and muscles in the back of the throat.

       

    2. The prolonged and controlled exhalation involved releases endorphins associated with:

      • Pleasure,

      • Wellbeing

      • Suppression of pain.

       

    3. Singing activates a broad network of neurons on both sides of our brain, causing regions that deal with language, movement and emotion to light up.

    4. The focus on breathing singing requires, make it an effective stress reliever

    Singing and Your Ancestors

    "There could be some deep-rooted reasons for these benefits too.

    Some anthropologists believe that our hominid ancestors sang before they could speak, using vocalisations to mimic the sounds of nature or express feelings."

     

    "This may have played a key role in the development of complex social dynamics, emotional expression and ritual . . . it's no accident that singing is part of every human's life, whether musically inclined or not, noting that our brains and bodies are attuned from birth to respond in positive ways to song."

    • "Lullabies are sung to children

    • Songs are sung at funerals

    • Children learn times tables through chanting, and ABCs through rhythmic and melodic structure.

     

    Not all types of singing are equally beneficial.

    "Singing as part of a group or a choir, for example, has been found to promote a greater level of psychological wellbeing than in solo singers. For this reason, educational researchers have used singing as a tool for promoting cooperation, language development and emotional regulation in children."

     

    Reference: Is Singing Good for Your Health?

    Can't carry a tune or even drag it behind you?

    We've got you covered!

     

    HUMmmmmm!


    PeggyJudyTime newsletter September 2024





      Hopefully you didn't miss our August PJTnews


      devoted to Miraculous Bodies,


      no matter their shape, size, age or species.


      Well, we are on a roll with more "BODIES" . . .


      P.S. Reminder: Everything in red is always our erudite comments, not to be mistaken for scientific study or fact.


      Lose your Ego, have an Out of BODY Experience



      Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) have been known to occur in many scenarios, including when people are near death or hypnotized.


      (Should you want to try an OBE we suggest hypnosis)


      "OBE's can leave a significant and lasting impression on those who go through them, and can also boost feelings of empathy towards others."



      "We know OBEs can have a transformative effect: 55 percent of those who experience them report being profoundly changed afterwards, while 40 percent consider the OBE they've been through as the greatest experience of their lives."


      "After OBEs, people often become more aware of the needs of other people, and show greater patience with others, and this is where the empathy comes in: an ability to understand and share the feelings of others."


      "The feeling of disembodiment and removal from the physical realm that characterizes OBEs leads to ego dissolution, the researchers say. That then develops into a strengthening of relationships with other people."


      "The sense of self is no longer centered on the 'me' and is perceived more as a process than as a separate entity".


      "OBEs are similar to a psychedelic drug high, . . . and some of the results are the same, in the way that these mind-altering substances can make us feel more connected with everyone around us."


      "As for the mechanisms behind this phenomenon, the study points to the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) as one brain region that might be involved. The TPJ handles our sense of where we are in physical space and manages inputs from the senses, and malfunctions in this region have previously been linked to OBEs."



      "The whole default mode network (which the TPJ is part of) could be involved, the researchers say: it handles self-reflection and internal narratives about ourselves, and so is tied to our ego, and may be disrupted during and after OBEs."



      Let us know if you've ever had an out-of-body experience? (Eating ice cream and sex don't count).


      This research was published in Neuroscience & Behavioral Reviews.





      BODIES of Water Lower lower your blood pressure and heart rate


      71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earth's water. That's a BIG body


      There's an expression for finding peace by the water: "blue mind.*


      "Being on, in, or near water has a stress-relieving and creativity-boosting impact on the brain, research finds."


      A growing BODY (in caps so you don't miss the pun intended) of research helps quantify the restorative power of the sea.


      "Less than two minutes of looking at water outdoors "is enough to activate the parasympathetic nervous system," and lower your blood pressure and heart rate".


      "Being attuned to visual cues for water helped our ancestors avoid dehydration, the mere sight of water can be a relief."

      Living near water improves self-reported well-being.

      By some measures, being near blue spaces is even more beneficial than proximity to green spaces.

      Even views of water through windows and artwork apparently help patients recover faster."

      "In a survey of people recuperating from heart surgery, those who viewed an open-water scene had lower anxiety levels and needed less pain medication than those who looked at an abstract design, a blank white panel, or even a forest scene."


      "Another study suggesting that natural environments reduce stress, researchers found that viewing an aquarium before oral surgery was more effective than hypnosis at inducing relaxation".


      Looking Blue is good!


      *The blue mind concept originated with the late marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols, who's remembered for his work in science and conservation.


      In his bestseller "Blue Mind," he described the phenomenon as a "mildly meditative state" that's inspired by water and "takes advantage of the neurological connections formed over millennia" that are still being discovered via newer technology, including EEG and fMRI.)






      • Mov'n & Grov'n your BODY


      We enjoy music not just through our ears, but also the rest of our body.


      When the music hits just right, we tap our feet, snap our fingers, clap our hands, bob our head (which are all connected to our BODY and begin to move — impulses that are near irresistible.


      This pleasurable urge to move to music is what scientists call groove.


      Researchers have reported that even 3-month-old infants spontaneously move to the music when they listen to “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys.



      “We think that it’s near universal,” said Takahide Etani, a medical resident at Japanese Red Cross Ashikaga Hospital who co-wrote a 2024 review on neuroscience and psychological research into groove. Etani said many other countries have words capturing a similar idea, such as “nori” in Japanese, “balanço” in Brazilian Portuguese and “svängig” in Swedish.


      "Psychological and neuroscience research suggests that the phenomenon of groove reveals something fundamental about how our brains work: We enjoy trying to predict how the music will go, and we move to help us make that prediction."


      "When the musical rhythm is not completely predictable, it invites us to move and “fill in the beat,” said Maria Witek, an associate professor of music at Britain’s University of Birmingham who researches music cognition. “The music requires us to move to be complete, in a sense . . . and kind of blurs the boundary between music and body and mind.”


      Groove-y music is just unpredictable enough


      The term “groove” was historically tied to music of the African American and Cuban diaspora . . . Examples of “groove-based music” genres include:


      Funk

      Hip-hop

      Jazz

      Afro-Cuban music

      Musicians also use groove in a larger context, such as describing a rhythmic part or feeling interlocked as a group when playing.

      Scientists use the term more narrowly to mean the pleasurable urge to move to music.

      Not all music gets us moving. One key musical element appears to be rhythmic complexity.


      People tend to find music that is moderately complex in rhythm elicits more feelings of groove than music with a low- or high-complexity rhythm.


      There seems to be a Goldilocks zone for music’s predictability and complexity: Too little complexity, and it is boring — no need to predict anything. Too much complexity, and it is too difficult — we can’t make sense of what we are listening to, let alone predict what comes next."

      Researchers theorize that one of the brain’s main functions is to predict what the world will throw at us and compare it with what actually happens."


      "With just the right amount of complexity, trying to figure out what comes next becomes enjoyable."





      Groove-y Sounds cause your Brain to respond differently.


      (Your brain is attached to your head that is attached to your BODY and thus qualifies for this PJTnews)


      "In a 2020 neuroimaging study, Matthews, Witek and their colleagues had 54 subjects listen to musical sequences of piano chords of medium or high rhythmic complexity and looked at how brain activity changed in response."


      "The subjects reported experiencing stronger sensations of groove to medium complexity. In the brain scans, how pleasurable the subjects rated the sounds was correlated to activity in the ventral striatum, which receives dopamine and is important for reward and motivation-related behavior."



      There’s a “privileged connection” between the brain’s auditory system and motor system for controlling movement for timing.


      In a 2018 study . . .


      ". . . Etani and his colleagues reported that the optimal tempo for eliciting groove is around 107 to 126 beats per minute. Interestingly, this tempo is similar to what DJs tend to play at musical events and is akin to our preferred walking speed of about two steps a second".


      Intriguingly, the vestibular system, which is what senses balance, may also be crucial to groove.


      One 2022 study . . .


      ". . . monitored people attending an electronic music concert. During the show, the researchers would periodically switch on a very low-frequency bass sound that people cannot consciously hear but can be processed by the vestibular system. They found evidence that the deep bass in dance music may be a key to making people dance: When the low frequency bass was on, participants moved on average 11.8 percent more."


      Music builds bonds and blurs boundaries


      Music is often a communal experience and one that brings people together.


      Groove may help us synchronize not only our brains and bodies to the music, but also to one another.


      "People listen to the same music move together, and research has shown that synchrony between people predicts how similar they feel they are and prosocial behavior. In this way, music may serve an important role in strengthening social bonds.


      If we are all moving to the same drummer, that boundary between “you and the music and the people around you gets blurred.”



      Getting our nori, balanço & svängig on!


      Copyright (C) 2024, Peggy Arndt, Judy Westerfield, PeggyJudyTime. All rights reserved.


      Keep us grrrrrov'n 'n moooooov'n and forward PJTnews to a friend, stranger or even a relative. We aren't particular.


      Should you unsubscribe by emailing us with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.


      we won't blame you for being off-beat.






      Got Rhythm? Beat It!


        Neuroscience of Drumming: Rhythms that Heal "The primitive drumbeat, mimicking the pulsating sound of the human heart, has reverberated through human culture across the globe since the dawn of civilization. In ancient societies, the rhythmic thunder of drums guided tribal dances, marked ceremonial rites, and even served as a form of long-distance communication. This rich cultural tapestry of drumming holds an allure that is far more than just ceremonial; the drum's beat resonates deep within our biological fabric, stirs our shared human narrative, and reaches into the heart of our individual well-being. Neuroscience has begun unraveling the mysteries of this age-old instrument, revealing a profound mind-body connection induced by the primal language of the drum."

        Drumming as a Neurobiological Orchestra "When a drummer begins their rhythmic performance, they are not merely creating music. They are engaging in an intense neurobiological exercise that involves numerous brain areas and cognitive processes:

        • The tactile handling of drumsticks requires precise coordination and motor planning, calling upon the functions of the motor cortex.

        • The ability to maintain a steady rhythm or to modify it in response to changing tempos involves the prefrontal cortex, which governs executive functions, decision-making, and adaptive behavior.

        • Simultaneously, the auditory cortex processes the rhythmic sounds, mapping them into comprehensible patterns, while the limbic system - the emotional center of the brain - reacts to the emotional resonance of the beat.

        "Thus, drumming creates a unique neurobiological orchestra, where diverse cognitive functions harmonize, fostering creativity, coordination, focus, and emotional expression."

        The Drum's Beat: A Resonance with Health "Science has begun to elucidate how this engagement with drumming can have far-reaching effects on mental and physical health.

        • One of the notable impacts of drumming is its ability to alleviate stress and anxiety. A study by Bittman et al., 2001, found that group drumming resulted in significant increases in natural killer cell activity, a marker of immune system function that can help the body combat stress and illness. This effect was attributed to drumming's meditative quality, allowing individuals to enter a state of flow where external worries are set aside, and focus is directed solely towards the rhythm.

        • Moreover, drumming has been shown to facilitate the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, suggesting a role for drumming in managing chronic pain conditions.

        • The rhythmic pulsations of drumming can also entrain brain rhythms, helping to promote the slow, synchronous brain waves seen in relaxation and sleep, thereby offering a natural remedy for insomnia and other sleep disorders."

        Drumming Together: Harmonizing Individual Hearts into a Collective Rhythm "Beyond the individual, drumming is a potent tool for fostering social cohesion and connectedness. The act of creating a shared rhythm in a drum circle cultivates a sense of unity and mutual understanding, helping individuals feel more connected to others. Neurobiologically, this might be underpinned by the release of neurochemicals such as oxytocin, which promote feelings of trust and bonding."

        "This communal aspect of drumming has significant therapeutic implications for populations struggling with social communication, such as those on the autism spectrum. Group drumming can serve as a non-verbal medium of expression, allowing individuals to communicate and connect through shared rhythms."

        A Beat for Every Disorder: Therapeutic Drumming and Rehabilitation The multifaceted nature of drumming has made it a tool of interest in therapeutic settings. The rhythmic structure and repetitive movements of drumming can help:

        • Restore motor function in stroke patients

        • Improve gait in Parkinson's disease

        • Enhance focus and impulse control in ADHD. Neurologic

        • Music Therapy, a certified health profession, uses rhythmic interventions like drumming as part of a broader therapeutic toolkit to rehabilitate individuals following neurological injury or disease."

        Drumming Your Own Rhythm: Accessing the Power of the Beat "The transformative power of drumming is not confined to the realm of professional drummers or therapists.

        • Drumming is an accessible activity that requires minimal equipment and can be tailored to individual abilities and preferences.

        • More importantly, it offers an outlet for creative expression

        • A medium for catharsis, and a pathway towards meditative mindfulness.

        The power of drumming extends far beyond its musical charm. It represents a fusion of art and neuroscience, a blend of culture and therapy, and a rhythm that resonates with our collective human spirit and individual well-being. As we delve deeper into the neuroscience of drumming, we uncover the profound wisdom inherent in our ancestral heritage, reminding us that sometimes, health and happiness are but a beat away."


        © 2023 by Peggy Arndt

        and Judith Westerfield

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