Want to improve your heart health? Start warming up your vocal chords
You can now sing to your heart’s content every single time you hop in the car without any embarrassment whatsoever.
Can we all admit that there’s a tiny part of us that rejoices when Let It Go comes through the speakers? Or that feeling when Bohemian Rhapsody hits your ears and you just go for it.
Who cares if people can see you? This is your jam and you are going to hit every single note on Adele’s album if you feel like it.
Not only is singing in the car incredibly fun, but now research is showing that singing at the top of your lungs while stuck in traffic has some great health benefits too.
A study from the Swedish University of Gothenburg has shown that people who sing together in the car can become so in sync, not only are their harmonies on point, their heartbeats can become synchronised too.
This is probably going to explain why those ridiculous road trips with friends are always a hundred times better when someone plays DJ.
Forget all the deep breathing and silent harmony searching on your yoga mat. Singing has been proven to require a deep concentration on breathing, which works the muscle groups in the upper body so it’s good for lung and heart health.
Bjorn Vickhoff, who initiated the study (thank you Bjorn), has said that:
“It gives you pretty much the same effect as yoga breathing. It helps you relax, and there are indications that it does provide a heart benefit.”
Singing also lowers your levels of cortisol, which is associated with stress and helping to improve your immune system. Singing is also just fun. So, win-win.
Improving your mood and unleashing your best Beyoncé impression at the same time is now an official way of beating the stress that is rush hour on the M50.
Now, would anybody like to take a quick drive to the beach?