SInging Can Ease Pain
By Francine Kaplan
Reduce stress and fight pain by exercising your lungs. That’s right, sing! Do it in the shower or in your car, give a karaoke bar a try or head for the great outdoors and belt out your favorite tunes. Even if you are singing the blues, making music can help you feel better in many ways.
According to Patricia Preston-Roberts, a board-certified music therapist in New York City, studies have linked singing with a lower heart rate, decreased blood pressure and reduced stress. “When I’m singing, I forget my pain,” says Preston-Roberts, who has multiple sclerosis. “It relaxes me and temporarily gets me back to who I am without the pain.”
Joke (pronounced Yo-kay) Bradt, PhD, a music therapist and assistant director of the Arts and Quality of Life Research Center at Philadelphia’s Temple University, has researched the effects of music on chronic pain management. “Music helps you escape from your body in the moment, and this encourages relaxation and diminishes pain,” she explains.
Other benefits of singing include stronger abdominal and back muscles from sitting and standing straighter, as well as stimulated circulation and sharpened mental alertness from the aerobic effect of drawing more oxygen into your body.
You can get even more out of singing by joining a choir, says a joint study from Harvard and Yale universities. The study reports that choral singing boosts the immune system and, among seniors, cuts down on doctor office and emergency room visits, and reduces the use of prescription drugs.
