Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
On the first Sunday after being named leader of the Catholic Church in May 2025, Pope Leo XIV Standing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, he addressed thousands of people gathered. Invoking tradition, he led the people in afternoon prayers. But instead of reciting it, as his predecessors had usually done, he sang it.
In the traditional Regina Caeli chant, the Pope inspired what some have called a rebirth of Gregorian chant, a form of monophonic and unaccompanied chant. singing Works in Latin date back over a thousand years.
The Vatican has been at the forefront of that effort, launching an online initiative to teach Gregorian chant through short educational tutorials called “Let’s Sing with the Pope.” The stated goal of the initiative is to give Catholics around the world the opportunity to “actively participate in the liturgy” and “make the rich heritage of Gregorian chant accessible to all.”
These goals resonated with me. As a performing artist and human movement scientist, I spent the last decade developing therapeutic techniques involving singing and dance to help people with neurological disorders. Like Pope’s initiative, these arts-based therapies require active participation, foster connection, and are accessible to anyone. In fact, singing is not only a deeply rooted human cultural activity, but research shows just how good it is for us.
Same old song and dance
For 15 years I worked as a professional dancer and singer. During that career, I came to believe that creating art through movement and song was integral to my well-being. Eventually, I decided to switch gears and study the science underpinning my longtime passion of dancing for people with Parkinson’s disease.
The neurological condition, which affects more than 10 million people worldwide, is caused by the loss of neurons in an area of the brain that is involved in processing movement and rhythmic activity – the basal ganglia. The disease causes a variety of debilitating motor impairments, including instability in walking.
Early in my training, I suggested that people with Parkinson’s could improve the rhythm of their steps if they sang while walking. Even when we started publishing our initial feasibility study, people remained skeptical. Wouldn’t it be very difficult for people with motor disabilities to do two things at once?
But my own experience of singing and dancing together since childhood suggests that it may be innate. While Broadway performers perform it with an extremely high level of artistry, singing and dancing are not limited to professionals only. We teach children nursery rhymes with gestures; We spontaneously nod our heads to a favorite song; We dance to the beat while singing at a baseball game. Although people with Parkinson’s typically have difficulty multitasking, perhaps singing and walking are natural activities that can reinforce each other rather than distract.
A Scientific Case for Song
In fact, humans are hardwired to sing and dance, and we probably evolved to do so. There is evidence of music, singing or chanting in every known culture. The oldest discovered musical instruments are flutes of ivory and bone, dating back more than 40,000 years. People probably sang before music was played. The discovery of a 60,000-year-old hyoid bone the size of a modern human suggests that our Neanderthal ancestors could sing.
In “The Descent of Man”, Charles Darwin speculated that a musical protolanguage, analogous to birdsong, was driven by sexual selection. Whatever the reason, singing and chanting have been an integral part of spiritual, cultural and healing practices around the world for thousands of years. Chanting practices, which use repetitive sounds to induce altered states of consciousness and connect with the spiritual realm, are ancient and diverse in their roots.
Although evolutionary causes remain disputed, modern science is increasingly validating what many traditions have long held: singing and chanting can have profound benefits with both immediate and long-term effects on physical, mental, and social health.
Physically, the act of producing sound can strengthen the lungs and diaphragm and increase the amount of oxygen in the blood. Singing can also lower heart rate and blood pressure, which may reduce the risk of heart diseases.
Vocalizing can also improve your immune systemBecause active music participation can increase levels of immunoglobulin A, one of the body’s key antibodies to protect against disease.
Singing can both improve your mood and also reduce your mood. Tension,
Studies have shown that singing reduces levels of the primary stress hormone cortisol in healthy adults and people with cancer or neurological disorders. Singing may also balance autonomic nervous system activity by stimulating the vagus nerve and improving the body’s ability to respond to environmental stresses. Perhaps that’s why singing has been called “the world’s most accessible stress reliever.”
Additionally, chanting can make you aware of your inner states while connecting to something larger. Repeated chanting, as is common with rosary chants and yogic mantras, can produce a meditative state, inducing mindfulness and altered states of consciousness. Neuroimaging studies show that chanting activates brain waves associated with the suspension of self-oriented and stress-related thoughts.
singing as community
Singing alone is one thing, but singing with others has many other benefits, as anyone who has sung in a choir can attest.
Group singing improves mood and improves overall health. Increased levels of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin during singing may promote feelings of social connection and bonding.
About the author
Elinor Harrison is Lecturer in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology, Faculty Affiliate, Department of Performing Arts, Washington University in St. Louis.
This article is republished from Conversation Under Creative Commons license. read the original article,
When people sing in unison, they synchronize not only their breathing but also their heart rates. Heart rate variability, a measure of the body’s adaptability to stress, also improves during group singing, whether you’re an expert or a novice.
In my own research, singing has proven useful in another way: as a cue for movement. Matching steps with one’s own singing is an effective tool for improving walking that is better than passive listening. It appears that, active singing requires a level of engagement, attention, and effort that may translate into better motor patterns. For example, for people with Parkinson’s, this simple activity can help prevent them from falling. We have shown that people with this disease, despite neurodegeneration, activate the same brain areas as healthy controls. And it works even if you sing in your head.
Whether you want to sing along with the Pope or not, you don’t need to have a sweet voice like his to sing along. You can sing in the shower. Join a choir. Chant that “Om” at the end of yoga class. Releasing your voice may be easier than you think.
And, besides, it’s good for you.