Singing Makes You Happier and Healthier Than Just Listening
Effects of Choir Singing or Listening on Secretory Immunoglobulin A, Cortisol, and Emotional State
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Listening to uplifting choral music increased negative affect despite lowering cortisol.
Common belief: calming music = better mood. But here, the same music that lowered stress hormones made people feel sadder—suggesting physiological relaxation doesn’t always match emotional well-being.
Practical Takeaways
Join a weekly choir or sing along loudly at home for 20 minutes—your immune system and mood will thank you.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Listening to uplifting choral music increased negative affect despite lowering cortisol.
Common belief: calming music = better mood. But here, the same music that lowered stress hormones made people feel sadder—suggesting physiological relaxation doesn’t always match emotional well-being.
Practical Takeaways
Join a weekly choir or sing along loudly at home for 20 minutes—your immune system and mood will thank you.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Behavioral Medicine
Year
2004
Authors
G. Kreutz, S. Bongard, S. Rohrmann, V. Hodapp, Dorothee Grebe
Related Content
Claims (6)
People who sing in a choir tend to feel happier, less stressed, and have a stronger immune defense in their mouths and noses—suggesting that singing together might be good for both your mood and your body’s natural defenses.
When people who sing in choirs for fun listen to choral music, their body’s stress hormones go down, but they feel worse emotionally—like more anxious or sad—so the music calms their body but not their mood.
When people sing in a choir, they tend to feel happier and their body’s defenses get stronger, but if they just listen to choir music without singing, they might feel less stressed but also feel worse emotionally—so actually singing might be special for your mood and health.
When people sing in a choir and feel happy or emotional, their body’s first line of defense in the mouth and nose (called S-IgA) seems to change too—suggesting that how we feel emotionally might be connected to how our body fights off germs.
Just listening to choir music—even if you're not singing—might lower your stress hormones and make you feel calmer, even if the music makes you feel sad or upset.