People with Parkinson’s who sing in a group once a week for 45 minutes over 12 weeks may feel less pain after just a couple of sessions — it’s not medicine, but singing might help them tolerate pain a bit better.

When adults with Parkinson’s sing in a group, their stress hormone levels sometimes drop, and when that happens, they seem to feel less pain—but only during the first two singing sessions, not the third. So the connection might just be temporary or unpredictable.

Singing in a group for one hour doesn’t seem to make people with Parkinson’s disease more stressed, at least not based on their stress hormone levels.

When people with Parkinson’s disease sing in a group, their pain tolerance doesn’t seem to change because of the hormone oxytocin in their saliva — so oxytocin probably isn’t the reason they feel less pain after singing.

Singing together in a group for just one hour doesn't make Parkinson's symptoms like stiffness or slow movement much better for most people, though some might feel a little different.

When people with Parkinson’s sing together in a group for an hour, their heart beats faster—but when they quietly read instead, their heart slows down. This suggests singing gets their body more stirred up than reading does.