Choir

Bringing happiness to others makes you happy

A study in the United States found those singing in a choir reported great mental health benefits, including a lessening of feelings of loneliness and depression. Compared with the general public, choristers were said to be more content in relationships and enjoying more time with friends, even beyond rehearsals. Remarkably, four out of five choir singers expected more good than bad things to happen to them, compared with just over half of the wider public. This could, perhaps, be due to the increased levels of oxytocin found in the saliva of choral singers, a hormone nicknamed the love drug for its mood-boosting and social bond-supporting qualities.