Whether you’re a professional singer or you just like to sing in the shower, singing is a great way to enjoy life more. Let’s face it; most people can at least carry a tune, and if you’re one of those people who wishes to improve your singing skills, there is good news.
First of all, you can greatly improve your skills as a singer by singing just 30 minutes a day. That being said, you might be wondering if too much singing is a bad thing. In other words, is it good or bad to sing every single day?
Just the same as eating too much turkey on Thanksgiving Day, too much singing can indeed be bad for the vocal cords, but you’d really have to sing a lot more than half an hour per day for it to do that much damage. The truth is that short periods of singing every day won’t harm you in any way; in fact, daily singing can actually provide you with some important benefits. Keep reading for more details.
Five Benefits of Singing Every Day
Some of the many benefits of singing every day include the following:
1. It Stimulates the Immune System
Many studies have shown that when people sing every day, it can increase their levels of Immunoglobulin A, which is an antibody that wards off all types of infections. Both singing and listening to music were shown to reduce stress levels, but the latter didn’t result in increased levels of this antibody.
The more antibodies you have in your system, the stronger your immune system is and therefore the more illnesses you can fight off. Singing is one way to increase at least one of these important antibodies.
2. It Might Improve Snoring
According to a 2008 study, both singing and playing a wind instrument regularly result in these musicians snoring a lot less than their non-musical counterparts. It is such a significant study that many experts have suggested that people who snore start singing or playing a wind instrument. Singing and playing a wind instrument are especially recommended for people who suffer with obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, as well as other sleep-related issues.
3. It Helps People with Memory Diseases
In several studies, people with dementia and even Alzheimer’s who were exposed to singing started recalling not only the lyrics to the songs they sang, but also certain memories that were attached to those songs. Even songs these people learned at a young age caused a return of certain life details, enabling the participants to enjoy remembering a lot of details that they thought were long forgotten.
4. It Increases the Pain Threshold
When you sing, your body releases certain endorphins, resulting in both more frequent positive feelings and a change in your perception of pain. In a 2012 study, people who sang, drummed, and danced together triggered hormones that raised their tolerance of pain significantly.
When the study began to include people who were just listening to music but not participating in it, the results were different. It seems that singing truly does increase your tolerance of pain.
5. It Improves Speaking Abilities
Scientists have long known that when people have certain speech problems related to a neurological condition and they start to sing regularly, their ability to speak in certain situations is greatly improved.
This includes people with Parkinson’s disease, stuttering, autism, and aphasia that sometimes follows a stroke. When you sing, it prolongs the sounds in each word sung, which scientists believe makes it much easier for you to pronounce those words when you’re speaking.
Dangers of Singing Too Much
The bad news is that you can indeed sing too much, but the good news is that you’d have to sing an awful lot for it to be considered too much. If you’re a singer by profession, the best thing you can do is take care of yourself and practice certain tips to keep your vocal cords healthy. Some of these tips include the following:
- Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. The recommended amount is about 15 cups per day for men and 11 cups for women. Hydrated vocal cords are simply less likely to sustain injuries, and singers need much more water than non-musicians do.
- Address any of your respiratory problems. If you frequently get acid reflux, allergies, or colds, make sure you take precautions to lessen the frequency of those illnesses. If you do suffer with these things, address them immediately so they can go away as soon as possible.
- Do not smoke. This one is self-explanatory. Smoking decreases lung capacity, and the lungs are the organ that you need most when you’re a singer.
- Always warm up before you sing. Even if you perform regularly and sing every day, you need to warm up properly. You can practice by singing scales or even by saying silly phrases or tongue-twisters!
- Most importantly, practice proper singing techniques. If you’ve ever taken lessons, you know what these are. This is just as important as an athlete using the right gait when running for baseball, football, or any other sport.
