6 Reasons To Learn To Sing in Retirement

Whether you've always dreamed of becoming a professional singer or just enjoy belting out your favorite tunes in the comfort of your own shower, the benefits of singing are undeniable. Not only does singing provide a sense of joy and fulfillment, but it can also have a positive impact on both your physical and mental health. And while some may feel intimidated or nervous about taking the leap into learning to sing, it's important to remember that you're not alone. There is a welcoming and supportive community of fellow music enthusiasts who are eager to share their passion and help you along your journey.

As you enter your retirement years, now is the perfect time to explore your musical talents and discover the many benefits of singing. Whether you're looking to improve your vocal range, strengthen your breathing and posture, or simply find a new hobby to enjoy, learning to sing can be a fulfilling and enriching experience. So, don't be afraid to take the first step and start your singing journey today. You may be surprised at just how much it can positively impact your life. Keep reading to learn more about the incredible benefits of learning to sing in retirement.

6 Benefits of Singing

1. Improve Your Memory

   As we get older, it's common for memory to worsen. It becomes easier to forget things like where you put your keys or glasses. To combat this problem, singing is a fun brain workout. Part of the process of singing is learning new songs, lyrics, and more that act to keep the mind active. As our brains get trained in this method, they get more efficient and start using these new methods and pathways to better remember other everyday items that we need to remember. Click here to learn more about improving your memory! 

2. Boost Your Self-Esteem

   Nobody starts out singing like a professional. It takes time and practice, but you progress and get better each week. As you get better, you will be amazed at what your voice can do and how quickly you can become a better singer.

   Your self-esteem will be boosted by the improvements you see in yourself. Your singing will improve, your ability to remember songs will improve, and overall it's a tremendous confidence and self-esteem boost to know that you can take on brand-new tasks and succeed at them.

   Singing is usually thought of as an activity for artistic people. However, anybody can add some artistry to their lives with some practice and effort. That's what you will learn as you're incorporating this new skill into your life.

3. Strengthen Your Lungs and Breath Control

   Singing requires belting out long lines of lyrics with power and confidence. You can't just speak the words; you need to be singing them with volume and timing. Initially, you may have to take extra breaths or run out of breath quickly while singing, which can be a little frustrating.

   As you keep training your lungs, you will find increases in your lung capacity and ability to control your breathing.

   Not only will you become a better singer, but because you're strengthening and using more of your lungs, you're rebuilding them and making them more powerful for all your other daily activities. So when you speak, exercise, and just perform everyday tasks, you will notice you're no longer as out of breath, can speak longer, and do more without changing anything else in your life.

   The other massive benefit of strengthening your lungs is that you'll be taking in more oxygen, which is crucial in keeping your body functioning. You'll feel less tired and more energized each day with the increased oxygen.

4. Relieve Stress

   Singing quietly in the shower can be fun. However, try belting out some powerful songs that require real physicality and emotion and see how much better it feels. Studies link singing or listening to music as significant stress relievers.

   If you want to feel happy, then pick some songs that you connect with being happy. If you're feeling sad and aren't ready to just jump into happiness, then pick some songs that let you express some of your emotions so you can work through them first. One of the best things you can do is find songs that you either love now or really connected with when you were younger. Many of us still connect the most with songs from our youth that bring back fantastic memories, so don't get stuck singing popular songs of today if they don't mean anything to you. Pick songs you love and sing them to start relieving your stress today! 

5. Socialize!

   Learning to sing can be a solitary exercise you do in your living room, or you can turn it into a fun new social activity! Joining a choir or group of others who are also learning to sing is a fantastic way to socialize.

   Not only will everybody be able to help each other, but you'll also all be able to give each other encouragement to keep going. You can socialize and have something to talk about with a new group of friends.

   It can also give you a goal if you're working towards a small performance one day. Singing for the sake of singing is great, but a goal gives you direction and a reason to continue and improve.

6. Improve Your Speaking Abilities

   Part of singing is learning to speak or push your voice out forcefully. It also helps ensure you are annunciating your words well. So singing can help you in two areas of your speaking abilities.

   First, if you have trouble speaking and get a little tongue-tied with words these days, it's a good time to practice speaking clearly and remembering to pull out words without stutters, umms, ahhs, or other delays.

   Second, singing helps you forcefully push your words out of your mouth without any issues. If you feel nervous about expressing your concerns or just speaking in general, singing will help you speak your mind, feelings, and desires to anybody you need to express them to.