The mind-boosting tricks that really work
‘There is a sense of achievement when singing in unison
Flipping through Hymns Ancient and Modern, it is noticeable how long-lived the writers tend to be: John Newton (Amazing Grace), 82; John
Henry Newman (Lead Kindly Light),
89; Charles Wesley (Love Divine, All
Loves Excelling), 80 – and so on. This could perhaps be a reflection of the undoubted benefits from a lifetime of singing lustily, boosting lung capacity by expanding its volume and strengthening the diaphragm and intercostal muscles.
The realisation that singing might be of therapeutic value is, however, surprisingly recent, with the launch of Singing For Breathing, at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, just over 10 years ago as an alternative to conventional methods for improving lung function. Since then, the idea has flourished and there are now 70 similar groups in hospitals across the country.
“The teacher tunes his guitar as the singers arrive,” writes ENT specialist Gabriel Weston of a recent session he attended. “Some come in wheelchairs and with drip stands attached. There is much panting, wheezing and coughing. But soon, after a series of breathing exercises, we are filling the room with song: Elton John, Michael Jackson, Perry Como…” For most, the limits to their breathing – whether due to the airflow obstruction of bronchitis, or the reduced lung compliance of emphysema – is fixed but the breathing pattern can be modified by conscious attention to the use of those inspiratory and expiratory muscles when singing.
There is inevitably a strong psychological component as well, countering the negative feeling that those with respiratory problems have with their breathing with the positive sense of achievement of singing in unison with others. “Singing together on the ward is an opportunity to make contact,” says Phoene Cave, a musical therapist who helped launch the initiative at the Royal Brompton. “We would sing as the intravenous lines went into the back of the hand and bloods were taken. Nurses, porters and physios would join in as they were passing, and everyone would smile.”
Shaking solutions
The conundrum of the woman who experiences a shaking or rocking sensation throughout her body at night, but “without any outward physical manifestation”, has elicited several similar accounts.
“I, too, have experienced this,” writes one woman, for whom it is most marked when lying in bed waiting to drop off and recurs again if she wakes from a vivid dream. Another woman describes a variant, “as if falling a short distance and landing with a disconcerting shock”.
The consensus would be that, as these experiences occur on the borderline of wakefulness and sleeping, this is a form of hypnogogic hallucination. These are usually visual (the impression of there being someone else in the room) or auditory, but can be tactile, replicating the feelings of movement such as jumping from a wall or being rocked in a boat. The further possibilities are that this might be a form of panic attack (“my heart starts beating faster, which turns into a shaking sensation”), or the early symptoms of a movement disorder such as essential tremor or Parkinson’s.
The gift of ginger
Some presents are more welcome than others, but for the recipient of a box of crystallised ginger this Christmas, it transformed her life for the better. On Boxing Day, she realised that long-standing arthritic pains and swelling of her wrist and finger joints were much diminished and suspecting that her gift, enjoyed the previous day, might be responsible, put herself on a daily dose of ginger root capsules. “I had not been able to wear my wedding ring for years,” she writes, “but can now slip it on and off at will”. Investigating further, she discovered the Chinese have been using ginger for this purpose for the best part of 3,000 years.