A Stimulating Guide to Singing
Taking ‘recreational’ drugs can be expensive, dangerous and, very often, illegal. It messes up your life and destroys relationships. In this dark and murky world your ‘friends’ may not be people you are happy associating with but you need them to achieve that all powerful ‘high’ their potions supply. Happily, most of us do not succumb to the addictive power of mind bending stimulants even though we may, at times, wonder what the attraction might be!
But what if there’s something we could do that provides all these sensory experiences without the use of a needle or pill? Something that’s safe, cheap and legal without causing the eyebrows of our nearest and dearest to rise? An activity that actually takes us to faraway places not an illusory destination that exists only in a fleeting moment of our imagination?
Medical Research increasingly points to one…
…Singing in a Choir
Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin and Endorphins are the quartet of hormones responsible for our happiness and wellbeing. Singing causes these neurotransmitters to flow and each contributes powerfully to our perspective on life and the way we interact with the world.
Dopamine is the motivational drug. It flows when you achieve your goals, giving you that feeling of satisfaction. When a song comes together in rehearsal and the Choir achieves that ‘Eureka!’ moment, that’s when Dopamine is released into the system. The post rehearsal pint is well deserved!
Serotonin promotes a feeling of significance and confidence. It’s produced when you experience events where you receive positive recognition like the applause after a great concert. It’s also generated when you re-live those moments later so the effect can be reproduced over and over again. The drug that keeps on giving.
Oxytocin. A powerful one. Often referred to as the ‘Love Drug’! It’s produced during those intimate moments in a relationship (!) and promotes those strong bonds which bind people together. In Choir terms it’s those moments immediately after a concert when the Dopamine and Serotonin promote Oxytocin production. I’ll leave it there…
Endorphins. Sometimes called the ‘Happy Hormone’, its effect is similar to Morphine in that it produces a feeling of wellbeing and reduces stress and pain. It’s what’s released when you exercise and, in particular, laugh. Anyone who’s been to a rehearsal at New Mill Club knows there’s plenty of that going on.
If you are tempted to sample this drug fuelled existence then come along to New Mill Club on a Tuesday evening and join the rest of the singing junkies eager for their next fix.
You won’t be arrested but you could easily become addicted!
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