'Tis, as Taylor Swift will tell you, the damn season. But Christmastime can boost your health, if you let it. That's according to counselling psychologist Niamh Delmar on Drivetime, who tells Katie and Colm that singing – and especially singing in a choir or a group – has lasting health benefits:
"It is absolutely powerful. There’s an extensive wealth of physiological and psychological benefits when we sing – especially if we're singing in a group."
When we come together as a group and start singing our hearts out, the health benefits are physical as well as mental:
"The physiological benefits will be lower blood pressure, it helps with the heart, the breath work, all of that, lung function. The psychological factor then, it’s an emotional experience. And it is a physical activity, you know, people have that shared activity that they’re doing together, so it really creates that social cohesion and it’s a bonding experience. And as human beings, you know, we gravitate towards that, so that can really help people to divert against loneliness or anything like that"
Group singing also triggers our bodies to release all sorts of goodies aimed at keeping us happy and healthy:
"It also then releases a lot of neurotransmitters, so we have the endorphin release, the dopamine, the serotonin and the cuddle hormone, the oxytocin. So, we know from research they all get released when we’re singing."
So, Colm asks, a song is as good as a hug? Well, Niamh did call oxycontin the cuddle hormone, so unsurprisingly, the answer is yes, it is:
"It can have that lovely boost to the brain and also it lowers our stress levels, so it lowers cortisol. So, there’s a lot going on in the brain and the body, and physically, we're doing physical activity, but we’re gaining physically as well."
Katie wonders about all the people who aren’t the best singers or who are tone deaf – what are they supposed to do? Do they just have to lose out on the benefits of singing in a choir or vocal group? Not necessarily, says Niamh, or at least not necessarily all the benefits:
"I wasn’t blessed with a voice, so I wouldn’t probably put myself on a choir or in a group but, you know, maybe a group of friends or if there’s a session on somewhere, or maybe I just go off into the shower or sing on my own in the kitchen. Those benefits are there as well. Obviously, you get the social cohesion piece if it’s in a group, that’s the gold star, but, you know, singing away on your own or humming or chanting or whatever it might be is also very beneficial as well."
Dementia patients are often encouraged to sing as it’s thought to help cognitive function, Colm says, so does this mean that trying to remember the words of that song you haven’t thought about for six months helps to keep our brains healthy? Yes, and yes again:
"Absolutely it does. And it rewires the brain because you're boosting neuroplasticity then in the brain and we know with studies with people with dementia, it can be very helpful. It gives them a cognitive boost, it evokes nice memories, and it can be very calming. It has been used in brain injury and stroke recovery as well."
The breath work is also a key benefit of singing out loud:
"We know the benefits of breath work in calming our nervous system. So, controlled breathing, the lengthening of the exhalation, the slow and diaphragmatic breathing calms our nervous systems."
No one needs an excuse to sing at Christmastime, but if you ever thought you did, now you have one. And it’s a good one, so take a deep breath and get happy!