Sing, Sing, Sing a Song! Health Benefits of Singing

What if you went to your health care provider with a specific physical complaint and he or she referred you to a music therapist who recommended twenty minutes of singing daily as the treatment? It isn't as crazy as it may sound.

Music therapists have found that singing blocks pain pathways in the brain and find it useful in treating a variety of physical and emotional conditions. In fact, recent studies reveal that just ten to twenty minutes of singing - whether you are in the car, the shower or anywhere else - has numerous health benefits, including:

- Lowering levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, by as much as 25%;
- Causing increased release of endorphins, those feel good brain chemicals;
- Diaphragmatic breathing exercises the lymphatic system;
- Slowing and regulating breathing and heart rate; and
- Oxygenating the blood.

All this has been linked to lowering blood pressure, reducing anxiety and stress, effective pain management, boosting immune function as well as improvement in mood, cognitive function and energy levels. So exactly how does belting out a tune or two accomplish all that? Researchers explain that the vibrations produced in your throat when you sing, travel to the brain causing release of those endorphins that make you relax and feel good. Singing also involves varying the tone and pitch of your voice, repeating certain melody sequences while gradually increasing and decreasing the volume of your voice, which positively impacts breathing patterns.

God encourages us to enter His presence with singing (Psalm 100:2). What if you think your singing sounds more like noise than music? That's OK. In Psalm 66:1 He also tells us to make a joyful "noise" unto Him. That tells me that even if our singing sounds like noise to us, as long as it is joyful, it sounds like the sweetest music imaginable to Him. And you can improve your health at the same time! Definitely a win-win proposition.

There are other ways to reap these benefits of singing without actually singing. A British Medical Journal published a study that showed that any repetitive type of speech, such as reciting prayers out loud or chanting, produces the same health benefits. If you absolutely cannot bring yourself to sing aloud, try speaking your prayers, praises and scripture confessions out loud. You will still experience physical, spiritual and emotional benefits.

So, do as Ephesians 5:19 says and "Be filled with the Spirit speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."

Ann Musico is a certified Biblical health coach and independent nutritional consultant. She has developed a "3-D Living Program" to assist her coaching clients in achieving vibrant health and wholeness - spirit, soul and body. Visit her website at http://www.threedimensionalvitality.com to learn more about the "3-D Living Program" as well as the e-books, products and coaching packages she offers. Subscribe for her free monthly newsletter and weekly email messages. Health is more than just the absence of illness. Let Ann show you how to create a life of passion and purpose, wholeness and harmony.