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Sing a merry tune, it's healthy -- really
Sing -- especially in a choir -- and you'll be healthier and stay young longer. Her's and other research has found singing brings benefits similar to those from eating well and exercising. Better yet, you don't have to sweat. "A person's physical condition and their vocal condition have an impact on each other," she said Jan. 3. Meredith said she became interested in the impact of singing on health while working with UWO's Canadian Centre for Aging and Activity. "My biggest interest is in keeping adults singing as well as they can for as long as they can . . . the health benefits are a bonus," she said. Like other physical activity shown to slow or even reverse aging, singing involves the use of muscles, she said. Meredith, who has started adult choirs at UWO, said she starts each session with a 45-minute workout to strategically strengthen the vocal muscles. In measurements over a six-week period, singers improve their breath control and range. "They can sustain notes for a longer period of time and can go higher and lower, as the muscles have been worked more," she said. While singing alone will provide the muscle exercise, people benefit more if they join a choral group. Studies measuring loneliness have found people belonging to a group score better, Meredith said. "There is a healthy social aspect." Creative activity also improves brain function, compensating for the loss of brain cells with age, she said. And it also appears performing pays off, with researchers finding a disease-fighting protein increases by 150 per cent during rehearsals and 240 per cent during performances. John Miner is a Free Press health reporter.
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