Studies have shown that the act of humming (along with chanting and singing) slows down your breathing, in turn making you feel calmer.
It is a simple thing to do, but the act of humming can calm you down. When I was younger, I used to sing in a choir. Sometimes I would dread going, but I would always feel energised and happy afterwards. We'd often hum to warm up our voices too, and I'm pretty sure I would continue to hum tunes when back at home. This brings me to the theme of this newsletter – and another technique that we can all benefit from to improve our mood and make us calmer.
You probably have a friend or colleague who hums constantly without even knowing it. They may not realise why they are doing it, but humming is believed to be a surprisingly effective tool for managing stress. One of the earliest sounds many infants hear is their parents singing or humming to them, so we may even connect the soothing sound of humming to a feeling of love and connection.
The science
When you hum, vibrations resonate in your chest and throat, stimulating the vagus nerve. This nerve is a major part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for your body's "rest and digest" system. This impressive system counteracts that feeling of "fight or flight" that can be triggered by stress, helping your body to manage its fear response. This further helps to calm us down.
The vagus nerve also helps control important bodily functions such as reducing our heart rate as well as helping with digestion. One small study of 15 singers found that singing, humming and chanting mantras all helped to synchronise the heart's rhythm.
Humming also helps to slow your breathing. This helps to signal to the brain and body to switch to a state of calm. Research also suggests that humming can boost the nitric oxide in our sinus passage by 15-fold. This molecule helps with many things, including improving blood flow, relaxing blood vessels and even sexual arousal.
For this reason, chanting – which is similar to humming – forms a major part of an ancient meditation practice called bhramari pranayama. It also forms part of many yoga practices, as I realised when my husband began taking part in a daily 10-minute yoga routine in an attempt to increase his flexibility and I'd hear the odd "om" or "ahhh" emanating from the living room.
Although the science of the benefits of humming is still emerging, we know that music is hugely beneficial for many areas of cognition and wellbeing. So why not give it a go and let us know how you feel? It's so simple to do and takes only a few minutes (I'm now humming as I type this, honestly!).
The exercise
Mindfulness and wellbeing coach Jessica Paton, who also practices humming therapy, provided the following exercise to try at home.
1. Sit up with a straight back and soft front. Let go of any thoughts of being a good singer and allow notes to come out naturally when you hum.
2. Bring yourself to the present moment and notice how your body feels.
3. Let your jaw and facial muscles relax, and note how your breath goes in and out. Take a deep breath in and hum as you breathe out, at your own pace.
4. Try closing your eyes to focus on the hum reverberating around your body. You can hum a tune you are familiar with or stay on one note – whatever feels most comfortable to you! Note how your body softens with each hum.
5. Keep going for a couple of minutes, or however long feels comfortable.
THREE TIPS FROM MELISSA
1. Hum when you're sad: We often hum or sing when we are happy, but try humming when you're feeling down to trick your body into feeling happy.
2. Swap humming with singing: If humming feels too strange, singing a song can have a similarly positive effect.
3. Try humming your favourite happy tune for a few minutes: This will also elevate your mood as you start to recollect any positive memories you have connected to that particular song.
Melissa Hogenboom, BBC Science Writer
