The Benefits of Singing

Why Joining a Choir is Something to Sing About!

Did you know that nearly three million people in the UK are members of a choir? Maybe that’s because they know that being part of a choir can improve your mental and physical health, boost your social life and free your creative spirit.

Making friends

Research shows that joining a choir is particularly effective at helping people to create social bonds – all the more important when so much of our social interaction today happens online. And meeting up with others and forging new friendships can help us to combat loneliness and feel part of the community.

Staying healthy …

There are clear physical benefits to singing as well. Learning to sing properly can help us to breathe better, improve our posture and relieve muscle tension. There’s even some evidence to show that singing helps to strengthen our immune system by reducing the stress hormone cortisol and boosting the immunoglobin A antibody.

…. and happy

When we listen to music or participate in music-making, neurochemicals are released in our body, helping us to overcome pain and generating a feeling of well-being. The brain’s reward system is also activated, triggering the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine. In short – singing makes us happy (even if we’re singing a sad song!).

Challenging our brains

Our brains love to be challenged, and learning new songs, focussing on singing in parts and following the choir leader’s instructions all help to keep us cognitively stimulated. Some singers even report that their general memory improves when they attend choir regularly. That’s something to remember!

Cultivating creativity

Finding our own creative voice can help us to develop a sense of identity and a feeling of being heard and understood. When we sing together in a choir, we become part of a joint creative team, finding new meaning and giving new expression to familiar words and music.

So what are you waiting for? Come along and join Singing Allsorts today and find out for yourself why so many people love being part of a choir.