Could Singing Help Your Mental Health?
Why you should start singing your heart out.
The study of music to improve mental health has been studied for decades. There are even modalities of therapy that utilize music to improve mood and our brain hormone levels.
Listening to music is a relatively universal way to raise morale in a community, celebrate, mourn for loved ones, worship deities, and more. Music is a language of the soul that unites all humans around the world.
What is not as often talked about is the benefits of actual singing. The physical act of singing has many layers of health benefits that are only added to the already amazing health benefits of music itself.
The science behind music
Singing has the ability, just like chanting, to create vagus nerve stimulation. The act of stimulating the vagus nerve can help calm the central nervous system that may be struggling with oversensitivity in individuals who are struggling with chronic stress or anxiety.
The study showed that the limbic system and the amygdala seemed to be deactivated during chanting. Therefore, since chanting is another form of singing, it would be safe to assume that the same with singing.
