[Choir] Article

[Mary Alice Bisbee]

Now I know why I sing!  Thanks, Dave, Stu, Jane and all who shared this.
Even with the struggle up those darned stairs, it is all worth while!
MaryAlice

On Thu, Apr 27, 2017 at 5:09 PM, Richard Riley via Choir <
choir at unitarianchurchofmontpelier.org> wrote:

> 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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-- 
Mary Alice Bisbee
3 Prospect St., Apt. 308
Montpelier,VT 05602
Tel. (802)223-8140
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