A few weeks back, I wrote a post about how singing could help you lose weight. If you’re sat in a car on a long journey or you’re in a traffic jam with precious little else to do, it’s no substitute for the gym, but it’s worth a shot to pass the time! Sit up straight, pull your stomach in and belt out those notes!

Anyway, Jonny likes to watch The One Show at 7pm when we’re eating dinner because he likes to pretend that he likes presenter Christine Bleakley. In reality, he is a bit of an old man at heart and enjoys the inoffensive banter and the nature sections they include. Well, today they included an item about how singing lowers your cortisol levels which I thought mildly interesting…

Cortisol is a hormone that is produced by your adrenal gland. It’s often refered to as a ‘stress hormone’ as when you are anxious or stressed, your body produces cortisol. Cortisol stimulates the ‘flight or fight’ bit in your brain. Your blood pressure will rise, your breathing may become shallower and other chemical reactions happen which may induce other physical complaints.

What does this mean for you losing weight?

Well, early studies have suggested that cortisol may be linked to obesity. For example, those who eat when they are stressed obviously do not benefit from higher cortisol levels! As far as I am aware, this is not scientifically proven however, for those interested in the chemical science behind why they over-eat, this could be a fascinating insight.

So back to the original thought on the BBC’s The One Show, how can you lower your cortisol levels? The reporter did a little experiment. He went to visit a choir and gave them a little sponge to soak up a little saliva. The choir then sang for an hour and re-did the saliva test. After all the singing, the choir felt energised an happy. After the results came in, it turns out that singing can lower cortisol levels thus reducing stress.

If you’re a stress-eater, try out singing instead of eating and let me know how your experiment works!