Singing in a choir can boost the immune protein levels in people affected by cancer, a new study says.
The research, by Tenovus Cancer Care and the Royal College of Music, revealed that singing for an hour can have a positive impact by reducing stress hormones in those affected by cancer.
Singing led to increases in quantities of cytokines - proteins of the immune system - which can boost the body’s ability to fight serious illness.
It also helps to reduce stress and improve mood, which in turn could have a positive impact on overall health.
Dr Ian Lewis, Tenovus Cancer Care director of Research and policy and co-author of the research, said: ‘These are really exciting findings. We have been building a body of evidence over the past six years to show that singing in a choir can have a range of social, emotional and psychological benefits, and now we can see it has biological effects too.
‘We’ve long heard anecdotal evidence that singing as part of a choir makes people feel good, but this is the first time it’s been demonstrated that the immune system can be affected by singing. It’s really exciting and could enhance the way we support people with cancer in the future.’
The research studied 193 members of five different choirs. Tenovus Cancer Care is now launching a two year study looking in more depth at the longitudinal effect of choir singing over several months.
The research, by Tenovus Cancer Care and the Royal College of Music, revealed that singing for an hour can have a positive impact by reducing stress hormones in those affected by cancer.
Singing led to increases in quantities of cytokines - proteins of the immune system - which can boost the body’s ability to fight serious illness.
It also helps to reduce stress and improve mood, which in turn could have a positive impact on overall health.
Dr Ian Lewis, Tenovus Cancer Care director of Research and policy and co-author of the research, said: ‘These are really exciting findings. We have been building a body of evidence over the past six years to show that singing in a choir can have a range of social, emotional and psychological benefits, and now we can see it has biological effects too.
‘We’ve long heard anecdotal evidence that singing as part of a choir makes people feel good, but this is the first time it’s been demonstrated that the immune system can be affected by singing. It’s really exciting and could enhance the way we support people with cancer in the future.’
The research studied 193 members of five different choirs. Tenovus Cancer Care is now launching a two year study looking in more depth at the longitudinal effect of choir singing over several months.
