Singing May Make You Smarter

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Singing on a regular basis might be the key to doing better in the workplace or at school. Learning to sing promotes structural changes in the brain that help you learn and think quicker on your feet.

The research was done in a strange group, not people but songbirds. I imagine they used very small scanning machines to attempt this but high-resolution imaging revealed structural changes to the brain within 24 hours of learning their first song. Cells related to learning in the brain became larger and there are similar changes in human brains. That is because when the researchers noticed this in the songbirds they applied what they learned to testing humans.

The take-home message is that music can be good for you and it makes sense to take advantage of this.