Carol services are a common event at this time of the year and now new research has revealed that singing in a choir may be good for a person's psychological wellbeing.

A UK researcher questioned 375 people, all of whom either sang in a choir, sang on their own or were members of a sports team. All of the participants were asked about their experiences with these activities.

The study found that wellbeing was high among people who took part in all three activities. However, an analysis of the results found that those who sang in a choir had statistically higher wellbeing than those who sang alone.

Choir singers also viewed their choirs as more ‘meaningful' social groups than sports people viewed their teams.

According to researcher, Nick Stewart, of Oxford Brookes University, research has already indicated that joining a choir ‘could be a cost-effective way to improve people's wellbeing'. Yet little is known about why this is.

"These findings suggest that the experience of using your voice to make music may be enhanced when you feel part of a cohesive social group. Further research could look at how moving and breathing in synchrony with others might be responsible for creating a unique wellbeing effect," he suggested.

Details of these findings were presented at the annual conference of the British Psychological Society's Division of Clinical Psychology in York.