Most realize that stress causes the hormone cortisol (aka stress hormone) to increase. This hormone signals that the body needs extra fuel- and it needs to prepare for a fight or flight situation. This results in increased, blood sugar and blood pressure (got to transport that sugar and oxygen as fast as possible). If the stress continues your body will think it needs to stay in this survival state.
Elevated cortisol is a problem seen in cancer patients. How does this relate to studying and stress?…well, a study found that among cancer patients singing for 1 minute a day lowered cortisol levels, improved mood and decreased anxiety. Maybe we should all start singing.
Benefits of singing “Studies have shown reductions in anxiety, improvements in mood and reductions in cardiovascular measures such as blood pressure.” Overall the “study demonstrates associations between singing and reduced negative and increased positive effect, reduced cortisol …”
Contributors: Eva El-Khatib from NutrGen LLC