Why singing is good for your wellbeing

Somewhere recently I read that swearing is supposed to be good for your health! I imagine what's really meant is that "bottling it up" probably isn't. We all know that holding back emotion or having an inability to express it causes depression and physical inhibitions, but instead of lobbing expletives to stay healthy why not sing instead? It's the perfect alternative and, according to current research, a proven way to treat dementia and depression.

By singing out you can express how you feel in a way that doesn't have to cause offence (no, not even if you think you sound out of tune - that is easily fixed), and will certainly give you pleasure for much longer.

I often explain singing to people as being a form of extended exclamation. If you squeak or whoop you'll find you use the low belly muscles to propel the sound out, and these are exactly the muscles you need to use for singing. Breathing from low like this will enable you to take longer and deeper breaths, which is not only good for the heart but in turn acts as a calming influence on the body. Many of us go around holding our bellies in and this means we can't breathe properly. Instead we use just the top part of our lungs so we have to breathe more frequently, and thus we replicate the shallow breathing caused by panic. This stressful state then communicates itself to our tongues which stiffen up in an attempt to preserve what air we have left in the body. Our tongues are great indicators of how we really feel, yet we hardly ever think about them except when we are under great emotional strain. On such occasions we can feel them blocking or tightening in the throat. Anyone who has ever tried to speak or sing at a close family funeral for example will have experienced this discomfort. The expression "to be tongue tied" is a pretty good description of what is actually going on. But this can also happen in the workplace where many of us feel forced to hold back our true thoughts and feelings. I once taught a diplomat to sing and initially he found it extremely challenging but ultimately fulfilling, simply to free the tongue. He found that his self-confidence improved as he was able to speak his mind more freely. We all need to take care of our tongues but not just for emotional health. A stiff tongue can cause not only breathing difficulties but, because of its long roots, tension in the shoulders, neck and jaw and with it the hips. The great news is that the easiest way to release the tongue muscles and feel freer in the body is regularly to blow raspberries, the juicier the better.

Once you have remembered how to do it you can practice singing all your favourite songs on raspberries. This magic exercise tones the low belly muscles, ensures correct breathing and frees your tongue lips and jaw. It also makes a fantastic noise - much more satisfying than swearing and far more effective!

Deborah Hudson is a leading voice coach and author of Sing Your Heart Out.
To find our more about Deborah please visit www.singdeborahhudson.com