Singing the hymn Amazing Grace for just ten minutes a day could possibly help reverse the effects of heart disease. That’s the conclusion of researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin after investigating how singing impacted the blood vessels of older individuals with heart disease.
The team recruited 65 participants aged 55 to 79 who were being treated for heart issues or had previously had a heart attack. Under the direction of a singing coach playing the piano, they sang four songs while researchers measured changes in ‘endothelial function’ which is a key indicator of the health of blood vessels surrounding the heart.
According to their study: “Music as a therapeutic is attractive for a variety of reasons, including minimal risk to patients, ease of use, accessibility, and pervasiveness across cultures. The physiological demands of singing are comparable with walking at a moderately brisk pace, suggesting that the health benefits of singing may overlap with that of exercise. Unlike traditional physical exercise, the impact of singing on cardiovascular health has not been extensively studied.”
The study found 22% of the volunteers recorded improved blood flow while singing Amazing Grace. That was significantly higher than for three other songs — the Beatles’ Hey Jude, Dolly Parton’s Jolene and Woody Guthrie’s American anthem This Land Is Your Land. The researchers observed that the physical and emotional effort involved in singing a much-loved hymn might explain the benefits, compared to other less rousing tunes.
They concluded: “Singing along to a pre-recorded instructional video for 30 minutes improved microvascular, but not macrovascular, endothelial function, in older patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD). Singing should be considered as an accessible and safe therapeutic intervention in an older population who otherwise may have physical or orthopaedic limitations hindering participation in traditional exercise. Future studies should explore the sustained vascular response to singing over weeks to months and explore the potential for “earworm” effects between visits.”
The study’s goal was not primarily to identify which songs had the greatest impact, but rather to determine whether singing itself positively affected the health of older patients.
