Everybody pokes fun at people who do it. But maybe it’s healthy after all.

That’s right – singing in the shower could be an unlikely solution to your stress, according to one clinical counsellor. Nilou Esmaeilpour, founder of Lotus Therapy and Counselling, explained it allows “safety, creativity, and stress relief to coexist”. Combined with confirmed privacy and the running water, it provides a full-body sensory shakedown that could reset your nerves.

She added: “When we sing, especially if we take in some deeper breaths and sustain long notes, it mimics the diaphragmatic breathing used in meditation or yoga, which brings down cortisol levels and reduces people’s stress.”

Singing in general activates the vagus nerve, which has direct ties to the parasympathetic nervous system that influences mood and stress. 

Elsewhere in the body, it also triggers the release of endorphins and dopamine, the feel-good hormones, which multiplies this initial effect. 

Although you could technically sing anywhere for this stress-relieving effect, the bathroom specifically has some added benefits.

The specialist shared: “Acoustics play a part too as the hard surfaces in most bathrooms create natural reverberation that enhances our voice, making us sound richer and more in tune, which can be a nice little ego boost. 

“Shower singing alone can indeed be a daily effortless enhancer of moods. It is a form of self-soothing that helps in emotional regulation and personal expression.”

Working with Showers to You, the specialist also listed out some of the top tracks to put on your shower playlist, because music choice can matter just as much as venue. 

Rating the acoustics, beats per minute, danceability and loudness of songs on Spotify, their research showed Shivers by Ed Sheeran as the best song to destress and energise.

In second place is Gwen Stefani’s throwback The Sweet Escape with an ideal 120bpm tempo and repeated lyrics making it easy and stress-free to follow along.

Third place is Dynamite by Taio Cruz followed by Calvin Harris’ This is What You Came For and Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder on the Dancefloor.