Hummmmm….
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Contributed by Stephanie Staples at Your Life Unlimited
Case #1 – We were playing Pictionary, a game where you are not allowed to talk- only draw, it was guys against girls, and the word our teams were racing to get was ‘neighborhood’. A ‘drawer’ from each team began to draw a neighborhood scene and while I was drawing, I started whistling the theme from Sesame Street (These Are the People in Your Neighborhood ). Almost immediately my team of smart ladies cued in and shouted ‘neighborhood’ in unison. We won! Was that cheating? I think not.
Case #2 – A patient starts singing the very song I had in my head and I said, “Wow, what a coincidence; I have the same song in my head!” and he said, “I know, you’ve been humming it for the last half!” #Oops
Case #3 – “You sound happy!” I would hear those words often when I was nursing. Sometimes I was happy and sometimes not especially so, but the reason that people thought that was because I was whistling or humming.
Mostly I did it rather subconsciously at the time but I noticed the time the third person would say, a version of, “You must be happy!” I actually would feel happy!
The odd time I hummed or whistled purposefully just to annoy the cranky people I was working with. While this didn’t happen often, I found nothing makes miserable people more miserable than when you seem persistently happy (apparently, I have a little nasty side).
Turns out there is research behind what transpired and, in fact, there are stress-relieving powers as a hidden bonus. There is a yogic humming breath technique called Bhramari Pranayama, but if you don’t want to get all fancy-schmancy, any regular humming (or whistling) will do.
Here are just some of the benefits of humming/whistling:
1. Stress Relief
Humming or whistling can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and reduces stress and anxiety. The steady, rhythmic sound can have a calming effect on the mind.
2. Improved Breathing
Both activities encourage deeper, controlled breathing, which increases oxygen intake, improving lung capacity and overall respiratory health.
