I recently wrote about the importance of sitting up straight to increase lung capacity and to get more oxygen to the brain.
I too posted links to facial exercises and explained why it‘s important to practice them as we age. Well, if you’d like to take care of all of these things in one fell swoop*, there’s something very painless and actually enjoyable that you can do. Sing!
The benefits of singing have been well documented and in fact, the music magazine The Etude (1883-1957) published over 100 music therapy related articles, 13 of which described the health benefits of singing. Here are some that you may not be aware of:
- Improves mood by releasing endorphins
- It relieves stress
- Improves sleep
- Improves posture*
- Tones the abdominal and facial muscles
- Simulates circulation
- Increases lung capacity*
- Improves mental alertness*
- Strengthens the immune system
There’s a whole list of biochemical benefits associated with singing particular sounds. I’ll explain those tomorrow. But for today, find any opportunity you can to belt out a tune:
- Sing in the shower,
- Sing in the car with your kids,
- Sing if you attend services on Sunday,
- Sing while you’re cooking (maybe you’ll eat less!),
- Sing happy birthday, happy anniversary, and happy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.
In other words, find a reason to sing! If it can improve our mood, our health, our stature, etc., think about what it’s doing to improve the world. We just need more people doing it more often.
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