Sing for health

Want to improve your immune system? Try singing!

Researchers at the University of California have discovered that singing can be good for you. They found that choir members’ levels of the immunoglobulin A – an antibody used by the immune system to identify and neutralise bacteria and viruses – increased by 150 per cent during rehearsals and by 240 per cent during a performance.

Dr Rob Moodie, health expert and chair of the National Preventative Health Taskforce, writes in Recipes for a great life that it is believed that cultural activities such as singing in a choir or playing music stimulate our emotional states by boosting the immune system.

The physical benefits of singing include:

· improved breathing and posture

· increased concentration and self confidence.

Singing in a group is also a really good avenue to meet new people. And don’t worry, most choir leaders today take the view that if you can talk, you can sing!