Humming - Maybe the Bees Know Something?

 

Have you heard the buzz? I mean the buzz that humming is helpful?

Humming helped me recently. I was on a short flight and one the things I usually do to stay calm while I travel is to listen to a book. But this time my earbuds would not work. I just suffered through for a few minutes and then remembered what I read on instagram recently, that humming was a great reducer for stress.

And so I hummed and it helped! As simple as that. It's easy, it's cheap, it's immediate. What's not to like about that? 

Psychology Today gives this explanation of humming:

Humming does more than create sound; it produces vibrations that ripple through the body, stimulating the vagus nerve. The stimulation activates the parasympathetic nervous system—the system responsible for calming you down and reversing the fight-or-flight response. When activated, the body shifts into rest-and-digest mode, which decreases stress and promotes relaxation.

According to the Mayo Clinic

Some of the possible benefits of humming include:

• Reduced levels of stress
• Lowered blood pressure and heart rate
• Increased levels of nitric oxide, a molecule that promotes healing and widens blood vessels.
• Improved air flow between the sinuses and the nasal cavity and improvement of the health of your sinuses

That same article from the Mayo Clinic goes on to describe a yoga technique for humming that you might find interesting as well.

I have done so many things over the years to bring relief from depression. Some of them work, some of them don't. And just when I thought I had exhausted all of the possibilities, I learned about humming. You can take it anywhere with you. You don't even have to fish around in your backpack to find it.

What about you? Do you need something to add to your recipe book for coping with depression? 

HUMMING! Try it, you'll like it!

Don't give up. There is hope for depression.