Singing against autumn: pathogens have no chance with this singing

T he hall is lit blue, I put my head back and stare with hundreds of people at the lyrics of the song that are beamed against the walls. “Our love is alive, and so we begin,” we sing along, “foolishly laying our hearts on the table... Stumblin' in”.

It's a cold Tuesday evening, I could be sitting on the sofa wrapped in a wool blanket, but I'm standing among a lot of strangers and singing - or at least trying to. I can't sing particularly well, but that doesn't matter today.

A small stage has been set up in the middle of the hall for the organizers of the crowd singing event. They accompany on the piano and drums, one of the men sings, just like the audience. The evening is like a huge karaoke show, except everyone sings along instead of just one person.

The cuddly skirt is followed by “A Compliment” by Sportfreunde Stiller. Now the middle-aged men also dare to join in: “I just wanted to tell you that you are the greatest thing to me…” Some even bawl. It doesn't really matter whether you hit the tone, your own voice will be lost in the crowd anyway. So I continue to belt out: "...and make sure you feel the same way about me. Feel about me!!!"

The singing event was at the beginning of the year, when it was still winter. We wanted to try something new, pull ourselves together despite the darkness. It worked. After singing I had more energy than before and felt lighter. When do you ever sing in a choir with hundreds of other people without being in a choir? Normally people meet to watch something together, a film, a play, a concert. Here we were part of the evening, not just spectators.

I then resolved to sing more this year. Just a few songs after work, with friends, or in the shower, on the bike at night. Because after singing I felt what science has long since researched: singing is healthy.

Robert Beck from the University of California, for example, conducted an experiment with professional singers in a choir. Using saliva samples, he found that the level of the stress hormone cortisol fell by 30 percent during the samples. At the same time, the immoglobulin A value increased by 150 percent, and even by 240 percent during a performance. This antibody primarily protects mucous membranes from pathogens.

Another study from the University of Toronto shows that singing in a group increases levels of oxytocin - also known as the cuddle hormone. When we sing together, the muscles in our faces and larynxes synchronize and our breathing adapts. You feel like you belong and relax. The study participants were asked about their mood before and after singing. The mood bar had increased significantly.

That's how I felt at the crowd singing event in January. How could I forget that?

It's almost winter again, it's getting darker and darker, and I'm looking at the orange bars of the study results: less stress, more oxytocin, better mood. So I'm inviting my friends over for soup and singing next week. I want “Angels” by Robbie Williams. During “And trough it allllll” the voice goes so high that it can only go wrong.