SINGING FOR ONENESS

As choir singers harmonize, their breathing and heartbeats synchronize in time with the music—creating a rewarding feeling of oneness. That’s the conclusion of a new study by Swedish researchers, who strapped heart-rate monitors on 15 young choral singers. The singers were asked to perform three exercises: humming, singing a popular national hymn, and chanting a mantra.(click below to read more)

 Researchers found that the pulses of the singers increased and decreased together as the music’s tempo changed. When the songs required the singers to breathe in unison, their heartbeats were especially aligned. The controlled breathing that singing demands also seems to have a calming influence on singers. “Songs with long phrases achieve the same effect as breathing exercises in yoga,” study author Björn Vickhoff of the University of Gothenburg tellsThe Daily Telegraph (U.K.). “In other words, through song we can exercise a certain control over mental states.” The lungs and the heart communicate with the brain via the vagus nerve, which also helps regulate emotion. Vickhoff says that link could explain why group singing strengthens solidarity, not just in choirs but among football fans and work crews. “When you’re singing together,” he says, “you are synchronizing with other people, and harmonizing your hearts.”