Singing can help to improve lungs

Singing can used as an effective treatment for people with lung conditions such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema, it has been claimed.

Dr Nicholas Hopkinson, a consultant respiratory physician at Royal Brompton Hospital, told the Daily Mail that there is an identified link between singing and improved breathing.

"There is common ground between singing technique and the kinds of techniques physiotherapists teach people with chronic respiratory problems," he stated.

Singing classes in hospitals teach patients how to use certain techniques to relax their stomach muscles. This in turn allows air to be drawn into the chest and supports breathing out.

Participants learn that signing is not all about forcing air out quickly, but about allowing oxygen to pass across the vocal cords.

Professor Graham Welch, chair of music education at the Institute of Education, University of London, has studied the benefits of singing for more than three decades and he says that its benefits are psychological as well as physical.

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