[Choir] Article

[Richard Riley]

I've read a number of studies similar to this, but not this one
specifically. It's worth sharing - which is now done!

Thanks,

Dick

On Thu, Apr 27, 2017 at 1:21 PM, DAVID GRUNDY <ddgrundy at comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi Dick,
>
>
> Got this from Stuart Williams. Thought you might be interested.
>
>
> Dave
>
> ---------- Original Message ----------
> From: Stuart Williams <stuart5432 at myfairpoint.net>
> To: ddgrundy at comcast.net
> Date: April 27, 2017 at 7:33 AM
> Subject: Fwd: MRC-- Just had to share this
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Jane Hobart <a2j2h at madriver.com>
> *Date:* April 26, 2017 at 10:54:27 AM EDT
> *To:* Hobart Jane <a2j2h at madriver.com>
> *Subject:* *MRC-- Just had to share this*
>
> Study says choir singing not only helps boost mood, but also immune system
> activity
> By Susan Perry <https://www.minnpost.com/author/susan-perry> | 04/15/16
>
> Maybe we all need to join a choir.
>
> A growing number of studies are reporting that singing — especially
> singing with a group of other people — has benefits for our physical as
> well as our emotional health.
>
> It also offers social benefits, which is something we need at a time when
> adults — or, at least, adults in the United States — are apparently getting
> angrier
> <http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a40693/american-rage-nbc-survey/>
> as well as more anxious, depressed
> <http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/03/for-80-years-young-americans-have-been-getting-more-anxious-and-depressed.html>
> and stressed out
> <http://time.com/4253107/americans-are-getting-more-stressed-out-study-finds/>
> .
>
> A study
> <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513815001051>
> published last fall, for example, reported that choral singing — even in a
> large group with unfamiliar people — fosters strong feelings of social
> connection and inclusion.
>
> Indeed, another study
> <http://pom.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/03/03/0305735615624976.abstract>
> found that people who sing in choirs derive a greater sense of social
> cohesion and “meaningfulness” from the experience than people who play on
> sports teams.
>
> Scientists are also uncovering possible physical benefits from being part
> of a singing ensemble.
>
> Swedish researchers, for example, found
> <http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00334/full>
> that singing has a calming effect on heart rate, particularly when people
> are crooning in unison, while Australian researchers found
> <http://jmt.oxfordjournals.org/content/41/3/241.abstract> that group
> singing can reduce the perception of pain.
> *An immune boost*
>
> The latest study on this topic was released earlier this month. British
> researchers reported
> <http://ecancer.org/journal/10/full/631-singing-modulates-mood-stress-cortisol-cytokine-and-neuropeptide-activity-in-cancer-patients-and-carers.php>
> that cancer patients and caregivers who sang in a choir for only 70 minutes
> experienced reduced feelings of stress, an improved mood and — according to
> before-and-after saliva tests — boosts in the levels of immune proteins
> circulating in their bodies.
>
> “These are really exciting findings,” said Dr. Ian Lewis
> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-lewis-91b20615>, director of research
> and policy at Tenovus Cancer Care
> <http://www.tenovuscancercare.org.uk/about-us/> (a cancer charity in
> Great Britain) and a co-author of the study, in a released statement
> <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160404221004.htm>. “We
> have been building a body of evidence over the past six years to show that
> singing in a choir can have a range of social, emotional, and psychological
> benefits. Now we can see it has biological effects, too.”
>
> The study involved 193 people from Wales (mostly older white women) who
> had been affected by cancer in some way: 55 were a current cancer patient
> in remission, 72 were a current caregiver of someone with cancer, and 66
> were a former caregiver whose relative or friend had died from the disease.
>
> All participants were already members of a Welsh choir, although not the
> same choir.
>
> In the days leading up to the experiment, the participants filled out
> questionnaires, which included assessments of wellbeing, anxiety and
> depression. Immediately before and after the experiment (the 70-minute
> choir rehearsal) the participants provided saliva samples, which were used
> for various biological measures, including levels of the stress hormone
> cortisone and of cytokines, which are involved in the body’s immune
> response. The participants were also assessed immediately before and after
> the experiment for mood and stress.
> *Better mood, less stress*
>
> After all the data was analyzed, the results showed an across-the-board
> improvement in the participants’ mood and stress levels.
>
> Improvement in mood was particularly strong for patients and caregivers
> who had the lowest levels of emotional wellbeing before the singing began,
> while stress levels eased the most for those who had been the most anxious
> and depressed.
>
> The analysis also showed a significant decrease in cortisol
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisol> levels and a significant
> increase in cytokines <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine>.
>
> “We’ve long heard anecdotal evidence that singing in a choir makes people
> feel good, but this is the first time it’s been demonstrated that the
> immune system can be affected by singing,” said Lewis. “It’s really
> exciting and could enhance the way we support people with cancer in the
> future.”
> *Preliminary, but appealing*
>
> The study, which was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal
> ecancermedicalscience <http://ecancer.org/journal/journal.php>, has
> plenty of limitations, which Lewis and his co-authors point out in their
> paper. Most notably, the study was uncontrolled — in other words, the
> results observed in the singers were not compared to those in a
> demographically matched group of non-singers. It could be that the
> experience of getting together with other people — not necessarily the
> singing — is what produced the biological changes and improvements in
> psychological wellbeing.
>
> Nor is a temporary increase in cytokines evidence that singing helps in
> the prevention or treatment of cancer or any other disease.
>
> The researchers also stress that these findings are preliminary. They have
> recently launched a more rigorous study that will follow the effects of
> choir singing on various physical and mental-health markers and outcomes
> over a period of several months.
>
> Still, there’s something very appealing about the findings, as
> demonstrated in a quote provided in the study’s press release from one of
> the study’s participants, Diane Raybould. In addition to being a cancer
> survivor, Raybould, 64, is a bereaved caregiver. Her 28-year-old daughter
> recently died from breast cancer.
>
> “Singing in the choir is about more than just enjoyment, it genuinely
> makes you feel better,” she said. “The choir leaders play a huge part, of
> course, but so does the support of the other choir members, the
> inspirational program and uplifting songs. The choir is a family, simple as
> that. Having cancer and losing someone to cancer can be very isolating.
> With the choir, you can share experiences only, and that is hugely
> important.”
>
> The study can be read in full at the ecancermedicalscience website
> <http://ecancer.org/journal/10/full/631-singing-modulates-mood-stress-cortisol-cytokine-and-neuropeptide-activity-in-cancer-patients-and-carers.php>
> .
>
>
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