When people sing in a choir¹ their heart beats are synchronised（同步）, so that the pulse of choir members tends to increase and decrease in unison²（一致地）. This has been shown by a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg that examined the health effects for choir members. In the research project "Kroppens Partitur" (The Body's Musical Score), researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy are studying how music, in purely³ biological terms, affects our body and our health. The object is to find new forms where music may be used for medical purposes, primarily within rehabilitation⁴ and preventive care.

 

In the latest study, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, the research group is able to show how the musical structure influences the heart rate of choir members.

 

In December 2012, Björn Vickhoff and his research group brought together fifteen 18-year-olds at Hvitfeltska High School in Gothenburg and arranged for them to perform three different choral exercises: monotone humming, singing the well-known Swedish hymn⁵ "Härlig är Jorden" (Lovely is the Earth) as well as the chanting of a slow mantra（咒语，颂歌）. The heart rhythm of the choir members was registered as they performed in each case.

 

The results from the study show that the music's melody and structure has a direct link is linked to the cardiac activity of the individual choir member; to sing in unison has a synchronising effect so that the heart rate of the singers tends to increase and decrease at the same time.

 

"Singing regulates activity in the so-called vagus nerve（迷走神经） which is involved in our emotional life and our communication with others and which, for example, affects our vocal⁶ timbre⁷（音色）. Songs with long phrases achieve the same effect as breathing exercises in yoga. In other words, through song we can exercise a certain control over mental states," explains Björn Vickhoff, lead author of the study.

 

Choral singing's positive effects on health and well-being⁸ are testified by many, although it has only been studied scientifically to a lesser⁹ extent. The researchers' hypothesis is that the health effects arise through singing "imposing¹⁰" a calm and regular breathing pattern which has a dramatic effect on heart rate variability -- something that, in its turn, is assumed to have a favourable¹¹ effect on health.

 

"In the case of controlled breathing, the heart rate or pulse decreases when breathing out during exhalation in order to then increase again when breathing in during inhalation. This is due to breathing out Exhalation activates¹² the vagus nerve that lowers the heart rate which slows down the heart. The medical term for this fluctuation¹³ in heart rate the connection between breathing and heart rate is RSA and it is more pronounced with young people in good physical condition and not subject to stress. Our hypothesis is that song is a form of regular, controlled breathing, since breathing out exhaling¹⁴ occurs on the song phrases and breathing in inhaling¹⁵ between these," says Björn Vickhoff.

 

"We already know that choral singing synchronises the singers' muscular movements and neural¹⁶ activities in large parts of the body. Now we also know that this applies to the heart, to a large extent."

 

The research group now wishes to investigate whether the biological synchronising of the choral singers also creates a shared mental perspective which could be used as a method for strengthening the ability to collaborate¹⁷.

 

Wherever acting¹⁸ and singing in unison takes place there is a link Collective acting and singing is often an expression of a collective will, according to Björn Vickhoff. "One need only think of football stadiums, work songs, hymn singing at school, festival processions, religious choirs¹⁹ or military parades. Research shows that synchronised rites²⁰ contribute to group solidarity²¹. We are now considering testing choral singing as a means of strengthening working relationships in schools," he says.

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