Carols and choirs are enjoying a boom in popularity, and science is showing how they improve lives.
Singing has brought humans together, and driven social bonding, since the early history of the species. Over the course of human evolution, the activation of endorphins, which creates a sense of contentment and peace with the world, emerged as a primary means to bond large communities. It turns out that singing is an incredibly potent trigger.
“Singing is one of the mega-mechanisms we use for bonding,” said Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford. “Singing in the shower gives you a bit of an uplift, but when doing it communally, there’s something about the synchrony of singing that creates this massive endorphin uplift.”
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