Everyone knows singing makes you feel good. Now researchers
are trying to provide scientific evidence to support this claim in
the treatment of serious illnesses like Parkinson’s and respiratory
diseases.
Monica was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease almost nine years
ago and she has been a member of the Sing for Joy choir ever since.
The choir was set up in 2003 especially for sufferers of the
progressive neurological condition.
“My voice can go quite easily when my Parkinson’s is bad,” she
said. “The singing can help me to project, it keeps my mouth
muscles exercised because Parkinson’s can actually atrophy all your
muscles if you don’t work really hard and the voice is like any
other muscle, if you don’t work it, it goes.”
New field of research
Surprisingly, very little scientific research has been
undertaken to back very real claims like these. Nevertheless, the
UK-based Sydney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health has
been trying to promote the value of singing for wellbeing since
2005.
“People who are working in medicine and thinking about health
issues from a medical perspective have not really considered the
role that creative activities can have for people in relation to
their health,” commented director Stephen Clift.
The center is about to embark on a major study on the value of
singing for people with chronic respiratory illness. The study will
use standardized assessment techniques to measure lung function,
breathing patterns and general activity levels before and after a
course of singing lessons.
Clift hopes to prove that breathing control elements involved in
singing could be a useful intervention in helping people manage
their condition and, importantly, to manage stress levels.
Parkinson’s attacks muscles, including the vocal chords
“Breathlessness can be very anxiety provoking and frightening
and so they have to learn to manage that,” said Clift. “We think
singing could give people the confidence to do more than they
think.”
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