This week we’re chatting with Kate Valentine, a registered nurse and the founder and director of Singing Mamas, an award-winning non-profit that supports thousands of women across the globe to improve their wellbeing through singing.

Hi Kate! If you could recommend one good thing everyone can do to improve their mental health, what would it be?

Join a singing for wellbeing group.

Why is this your One Good Thing?

I’m a mum of four and have spent most of my working life as a nurse, so stress has been a pretty regular feature for me. I’ve always used singing as a way to cope because it was a tool I could use anywhere at any time. Whether it’s in the car, on the ward, or in the supermarket when my toddler is face down screaming, there is a song for every experience and situation. For me, there’s something comforting in knowing that I’m not alone in experiencing those moments. That someone else has been there too and even felt it deeply enough to put it to music.

How does singing benefit our mental health?

On a physiological level, when we sing it regulates our breathing and heart rate and it calms the body’s nervous system. Our bodies produce oxytocin (which is known as the ‘love hormone’) and cortisol (the stress hormone) levels are reduced.

Singing for wellbeing is totally different to singing in a choir because the emphasis is on how it feels for the people taking part, not how it sounds to people listening.

For starters, at a singing for wellbeing group you’ll probably find yourself standing or sitting in a circle rather than in rows. There won’t be any sheets of music or even lyrics written down; you’ll learn songs by call and response: the group leader sings a line, and everyone echoes it back. The songs will be short and simple and rather than the group being divided up with people learning and practising their ‘parts’ – everyone will sing together and harmonies are just layered up. It’s such a relaxing and magical experience.

One Good Thing: how the simple act of singing could boost your mental health