The reader might wonder: "Why this title?" What does this Quaker hymn "How Can I Keep From Singing" have to do with my nursing practice? The answer is: Everything. The wondrous changes that occur in the human body and brain when singing make the act of singing an integral part of the healing process.
Ways That Singing Benefits Health1
1. It relieves stress by lowering cortisol levels.
2. It stimulates the immune response by raising levels of immunoglobulin A
3. It increases pain threshold by releasing endorphins.
4. It may improve snoring by changing the way one breathes.
5. It improves lung function by deep breathing and controlled use of muscles in respiratory system. Strengthened respiratory muscles may offer benefits to people with the following conditions: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, cyclic fibrosis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, quadriplegia.
6. It develops a sense of belonging. When you sing together with others, you are likely to feel the same kind of camaraderie and bonding that players on sports teams experience. One of the chemicals released when people feel bonded together is oxytocin.
7. It enhances memory in people with dementia. People with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia experience a gradual loss of memory. Studies have shown that people with these conditions were able to recall song lyrics more easily than words. However, the singers found they remembered more than just the lyrics. For some, singing familiar songs suddenly brought back life memories they had forgotten.
8. It helps with grief. Singing in a group does not just help you with physical pain, but it also helps with the emotional pain you feel after you have lost someone you love.
9. It improves mental health and mood. A study in the United Kingdom evaluated 20 people in a singing program known as The Sing Your Heart Out project. The participants included people with mental health conditions, as well as the general public. Participants reported improvements in their mental health, mood, sense of well-being, and feelings of belonging as a result of these singing workshops.
10. It helps improves speaking abilities. Researchers have found that singing improves the speaking ability for people with autism, Parkinson's disease, aphasia following a stroke, and stuttering. Singing stimulates multiple areas of the brain at the same time. This may enable people with an impairment one part of the brain to communicate using other areas of their brain. Singing can also prolong the sounds in each word, making it easier to pronounce them.
"When we sing, large parts of our brain 'light up' with activity[horizontal ellipsis] There is a singing network in the brain (which is quite broadly distributed). When we speak, the hemisphere of the brain dealing with language lights up, as we might expect. When we sing, however, both sides of the brain spark into life. We also see involvement of the emotion networks of the brain that controls the movements we need to produce sounds and articulation also light up." -Sarah Wilson2
"The physical exertion involved in singing-filling our lungs, the firm control of our vocal chords, the movements of our mouth and body-is among the reasons why it can boost our mood. Singing is an aerobic exercise which sees the release of endorphins the brain's 'feel good' chemicals. Endorphins are related to an overall lifted feeling of happiness; it gives a feeling of euphoria so it's all associated with a reduction in stress. In any situation whether it is under stress or (with) any physical ailment, illness, psychological deprivation, music has the potential to affect our body and mind.
Focusing on controlling your rate of breathing-a key skill in singing-activates parts of the brain that are linked to emotion. When your mood is up, you (strengthen) your immune system[horizontal ellipsis], you respond to stress factors in a more positive way and enhance sleep patterns." -Baishali Mukherjee2
"When we study singing, we don't just learn about singing. We learn about things that are uniquely human and gain insights into the way the brain develops, why it develops the way that it has, how it develops and why we've held onto music." -Sarah Wilson2
As I ponder the words of those cited herein, a myriad of moments in time floats through my mind-moments in which singing to or with another would have been an act of compassion. A connection of two souls that would have, or did at certain times, relieves another's suffering, to realize that we all are innately gifted with the ability to sing is a wondrous thing. And it is important to note that everyone can sing despite being told in their early years that they could not. One can sing with joy or sorrow in private or with others. With the gift of song, we can be compassionate to ourselves. It is my sincere hope that the reader will use this divinely personal gift to enhance the lives of others and their own. It has the power to diminish the isolation and passivity that can exaggerate suffering beyond a human being's capacity to endure. Singing honors the dignity and personal freedom of another and our own. Singing involves all of the faculties of the soul-memory, reason, will, and all of the senses.
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear that music ringing;
It sounds and echoes in my soul;
How can I keep from singing?
No storm can shake my inmost calm.
While to that rock I'm clinging.
Since Love is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?3
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