Singing for Menopause

Singing For Menopause

Evaluating the Impact of Participation in Group Singing on Menopausal Symptoms: A 12-session Comparative Study

Menopause represents a critical life stage for women, often accompanied by a range of physical, emotional and psychosocial challenges such as hot flushes, anxiety, mood swings, and a sense of loss. These changes can negatively impact quality of life and social participation. NICE guidelines recommend HRT, CBT and physical activity to treat symptoms of menopause. Many women are seeking knowledge and empowerment, and to find alternative options to manage their own symptoms.

Creative and community-based interventions, like group singing, have shown potential for improving mental health and fostering social connection. Group singing has demonstrated benefits in reducing anxiety, enhancing mood, and improving overall well-being in dementia, and mental health. However, its feasibility and efficacy as a therapeutic intervention for menopause remains underexplored.

Here’s where you come in…

Hopefully, the line about seeking knowledge and empowerment, and finding alternative options to manage symptoms resonated with you? Community Pop Chorus are working in partnership with University of Essex, and we want to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured, 12 x 90-minute session, group-singing based intervention on reducing menopausal symptoms. We need women like you to help test this new programme. This is research, so naturally it will involve some questions… here are a few for starters:

1. Would you like to explore topics relevant to your menopause symptoms like stress and anxiety, regulating emotions, self-confidence, brain fog, and more?
2. Would it be helpful to find some new ways of managing your symptoms that don’t involve wearing lycra, meditating, or seeing a therapist?
3. Could you benefit from coming together with other, like-minded women, in a supportive, friendly, and genuinely safe space to share your experiences?
4. And would you like to do it all, whilst singing songs you know and love, the ones that have soundtracked your life?
5. Would it be good to be part of the process of shaping and refining this new programme, to make it as helpful as possible to other women?

If you find yourself nodding, then it’s you we need! Even if you’re a bit iffy about number 4, don’t worry, you definitely do not need to be a ‘singer’ to do this – whether you’re the person who mimes the hymns at weddings, or you have your own home-karaoke, there’s a place for you in this group. From Bridget Jones singing at the top of her voice eating ice-cream, to the mousey silent girl in Pitch Perfect, we’ve got you. For our research to be credible, we need absolute transparency and a level playing field, so there are a few criteria we need participants to meet, in order to take part.

Participants – 45 women, aged 40-60, currently reporting moderate to severe menopausal symptoms. Criteria for participation:

• Must be prepared to complete baseline assessment (Initial survey, etc)
• Must sign consent form
• Must NOT have a diagnosed cognitive disorder
• Must NOT be currently using medication for mood or sleep (or have recently stopped using such medication)
• *Must be able to attend the 12 in-person sessions, held in Suffolk – within 10 miles of Ipswich, between January and April 2026 (*if part of the Intervention group)

The 45 participants will be split into 3 groups of 15.

1. Control group – no intervention, usual practice (members of existing choirs) – will submit survey and data about symptoms.
2. Intervention group – Participants in the 12-session structured programme
3. Comparison group – NOT participants in any singing groups – will submit survey and data about symptoms.

The in-person sessions start in January 2026, and take place on the following dates (all Saturday mornings, 9.30-11am):

We will ask for a nominal £5 per person, per 90-minute session towards costs (but don’t let finances be an obstacle to your participation, we will endeavour to support those unable to contribute financially).

If you’re still reading, and still interested, please email Yula from Community Pop Chorus at sing@popchorus.co.uk to reserve your place in this first cohort of participants on the in-person programme.