Music & wellness: Lynn Noble explains her practice
Health benefits of singing
In her career as a board-certified music therapist, Lynn Noble embraces how music helps our minds and bodies thrive.
Noble defines her profession as the use of music – singing, playing, listening, and more – to support a client’s goals. She explains how music therapy is often used to “promote general wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, express feelings, enhance memory, and improve communication,” and can be applied in environments from schools to hospitals.
For a therapist, music offers a way to understand a client’s needs. Many people struggle to put their feelings into words, but can find a song that matches their mood or expresses how they’d like to feel.
“Most people have had the experience of feeling chills while listening to a favorite song, or being transported right back to a specific time and place by a piece of music,” says Noble. “It’s in those memories and context where the vulnerability and motivation of clinical work often occurs.”
For a therapist, music offers a way to understand a client’s needs. Many people struggle to put their feelings into words, but can find a song that matches their mood or expresses how they’d like to feel.
“Most people have had the experience of feeling chills while listening to a favorite song, or being transported right back to a specific time and place by a piece of music,” says Noble. “It’s in those memories and context where the vulnerability and motivation of clinical work often occurs.”
"Singing in groups creates a sense of belonging and inclusion.”
Outside of therapy, music can be a major asset for our everyday wellbeing. Noble says music “benefits the whole person,” impacting our emotions, physical health, and even social connections.
The positive effects of singing, for instance, extend to both body and mind. Our levels of stress hormones, like cortisol, decrease after we sing, and some evidence shows how anxiety and blood pressure decrease. Singing also causes us to inhale from our diaphragm and take longer exhales, triggering a “rest and digest” response that can relax muscles and improve sleep.
Noble notes that singing releases endorphins, which boost energy, improve wellbeing, and cause “increases in self-esteem and self-confidence.” When we rock out in the shower or belt during karaoke, we sense this intuitively – singing just makes us feel good.
This feeling is heightened when we engage in music with others. Noble explains that singing in groups creates “a sense of belonging and inclusion,” releasing feel-good chemicals like oxytocin and promoting interpersonal bonding. Technology makes these experiences more accessible, allowing people across the world to share music and sing together.
So, how can we maximize the mental health benefits of music? Noble says that self-observation and awareness are key. She supports “actively and intentionally choosing to listen or play or sing or dance – and noticing how that feels in your body and your soul.” Ultimately, Noble’s insight is to “just make music,” in whatever way you choose.
See more stories about music’s positive impact on mental health below.
The positive effects of singing, for instance, extend to both body and mind. Our levels of stress hormones, like cortisol, decrease after we sing, and some evidence shows how anxiety and blood pressure decrease. Singing also causes us to inhale from our diaphragm and take longer exhales, triggering a “rest and digest” response that can relax muscles and improve sleep.
Noble notes that singing releases endorphins, which boost energy, improve wellbeing, and cause “increases in self-esteem and self-confidence.” When we rock out in the shower or belt during karaoke, we sense this intuitively – singing just makes us feel good.
This feeling is heightened when we engage in music with others. Noble explains that singing in groups creates “a sense of belonging and inclusion,” releasing feel-good chemicals like oxytocin and promoting interpersonal bonding. Technology makes these experiences more accessible, allowing people across the world to share music and sing together.
So, how can we maximize the mental health benefits of music? Noble says that self-observation and awareness are key. She supports “actively and intentionally choosing to listen or play or sing or dance – and noticing how that feels in your body and your soul.” Ultimately, Noble’s insight is to “just make music,” in whatever way you choose.
See more stories about music’s positive impact on mental health below.
