Music in general is a great stress reliever; I love to throw on my little playlist when life is getting too stressful. But simply listening to the songs is not enough, no, no. I need to be belting these tunes at the top of my lungs to squish the stress I'm feeling. I wonder if there is an academic validity in this? Well, I'm glad you asked!
Researchers Zhou and Mkrtichian had similar questions. though they focused on organized singing called "structural signing" this is a fancy way of describing a choir. The goal of this research was to see if signing in a choir could have positive effects on anxiety, frustration, and cortisol. How they tested their idea was they place 100 frost year students into a choir. in the beginning of the experiment, they tested all the student's anxiety, cortisol, and stress levels. they then had them participate in the choir until the end of the experiment, at which they were then tested again. what the researchers found was that singing in a structured manner did, in fact, lower anxiety, frustration, and cortisol! students noted that they felt more emotionally flexible and overall were calmer.
The biggest contributing factors as to why we see the results we did is structured breathing, vocal-motor synchronization, and social synchrony. the deep breathing required for singing activates the parasympathetic nervous system which reduces arousal thus calming us and reducing anxiety and cortisol. The vocal-motor synchronization forces our brain to engage multiple parts of our body which serves as a great emotional regulator. Lastly, community and social connection have been proven to lower cortisol and anxiety levels so of course taking art in a group activity like singing in would prove to be beneficial.
So, the next time you are feeling the weight of the world and want to relax with some Megan The Stallion or whatever the kids these days are into, perhaps ask a friend to join you.
Work cited:
Zhou, Z., & Mkrtichian, O. (2025). Structured vocalisation as a module of affective regulation: The impact of choral participation on anxiety, frustration and stress resilience in non-musician students. European Journal of Education, 60(e70084). https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70084
Interesting post Gabby! My mom (who doesn't listen to kpop) recently went on a kpop concert (of my favorite group of all time, SEVENTEEN) with me. She had earplugs on because I was singing along and high-pitch eagle screeching for these men. After attending the concert, I did feel stress-relieved.
ReplyDeleteBesides that, I think that singing is a great way to reduce stress. In fact, it's like exercising since you have to engage your respiratory system, larynx, neck muscles and even your abdomen!
But Gabby, what kind of songs do you like to sing in order to relieve your stress? I know people enjoy ballads/soft songs or even hype songs... but I'm not sure about classical/instrumentals..
https://www.londonsinginginstitute.co.uk/the-anatomy-of-the-singing-voice/#:~:text=Singing%20involves%20many%20muscles:%20*%20**Diaphragm**%20Supports,110%20to%20over%20200%20cycles%20per%20second