In tune with health

IF WE won the lottery, we could be forgiven for bursting into song. We certainly might feel like doing so. But could the reverse also be true? Could singing actually make us feel happy – even if we haven’t won the lottery?

The short answer seems to be, yes. And singing can do much more besides, whether by ourselves or in a choir.

Music is the food of love, said Shakespeare, and modern neuroscientists would agree with him. The neurochemical oxytocin, often called the love hormone, released when we feel bonded with others, is also released by singing. Perhaps for that reason, music, and singing, has been around for a long time. The oldest bone flute is 40,000 years