Music is one of the few things (besides food) that bridges the gaps between people of different ages, genders, races, and cultures. Songs’ rhythms and melodies can penetrate our innermost existence. Our unique capacity to perceive and interpret sound is rooted in our evolutionary past.
Moods and feelings can be released through music’s subliminal effects. As a result of studying these outcomes, we can gain a better understanding of how our brains work.
Much like a film’s score, the music we were listening to at a pivotal period in our lives can bring back strong emotions and vivid memories, both positive and negative.
Remembering the music you danced to at your wedding, the albums your dad played on repeat when you were younger, or the songs that helped you get over your first heartbreak are all things you’ll never forget.
This is because our brain stores songs that are meaningful to us in our emotional memory, alongside the memories of the circumstances that prompted those emotions.
Since music has such a profound effect on us, it can be utilized in music therapy. This can help people who have trouble sharing their thoughts and feelings.
In this article, you’ll learn about the therapeutic effects of music on people with dementia and how it can help your loved one’s memory.
Music Therapy
Music therapy uses music to stimulate the patient’s memory and facilitate recall. In addition, melatonin, serotonin, and prolactin, the brain’s “feel-good hormones,” are all increased with music therapy.
This can provide people with dementia with a sense of empowerment and independence. It’s not a replacement for medicine, but it’s something to consider if you don’t want your loved one to rely on pills too frequently.
To get into the nitty gritty, the brain regions responsible for processing music also process language and emotion. That’s why it’s so easy to feel a flood of nostalgia whenever you hear that music.
However, everyone responds differently to music. The best music for a person with dementia is the kind of music that holds special emotional significance for them.
Music therapy has been shown to help people with attention and communication. It even reduces their need for psychiatric medications.
Music has several positive effects on people with dementia across the disease’s progression. This is notably true in the advanced stages. People may become emotionally and socially isolated and unable to engage in meaningful conversation.
People with dementia often experience a noticeable improvement after listening to music. They might perk up and start paying more attention to their environment. In response to music, they could break out into song or dance.
Rhythm-elicited responses sidestep the brain’s common response mechanism. Instead, the brain registers the music and sends out commands to the body to move in time with it (by clapping, swaying, or humming).
People in the early stages of the disease may benefit from attending a concert or dancing. Especially if it concerns music they once liked, you should respect their preferences. The way they hear the music could alter their brain chemistry.
Those who have experience playing a musical instrument may find that it brings them joy to do it again. Keep track of and play beloved pieces like those performed at a wedding to bring back fond memories.
Playing music while walking may aid with balance as the condition worsens. We can enhance the mood of an individual with dementia with music. Calming music can be utilized to alleviate behavioral challenges that arise during sleep.
When recalling prior experiences, a person’s favorite music from their youth may serve as a trigger. People in the late stages of the disease may find that listening to music encourages them to get moving. Even music with a calming effect can be a source of solace and peace.
Dementia And Music: Effects of Music on The Brain
Music stimulates hearing, seeing, and touching, as well as the brain’s language, emotion, and movement areas.
Songs that stir up powerful feelings in you have a greater chance of returning memories. Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have now identified the specific region of the brain responsible for this process.
An individual’s emotional reaction to a song is typically predicated on their prior experience with the song. For example, some people could react negatively to the music if it makes them think about ending a relationship.
Some people may react negatively by acting tense or irritated or producing grimacing facial movements.
The most enthusiastic responses are usually given to popular songs when an individual is 18 to 25 years old. But familiar tunes from your youth or music you’ve never heard before might sometimes have the desired effect.
Music therapy has the potential to achieve a wide range of goals depending on the musical style employed. Fast-paced, percussive music is known to increase patient activity and alertness. Listening to relaxing music would be more effective.
Patients who feel agitated or overwhelmed by their surroundings enjoy this genre of music. In the later stages, people often stop expressing love for their loved ones. Yet, they may display their passion by dancing or swaying to the music.
Benefits of Music Therapy For People With Dementia
Tremendous progress can be made with people who have dementia through the use of music therapy. For example, it is common to remember things you thought you’d forgotten or to recall the names of long-lost loved ones.
People who have been nonverbal may benefit from music therapy by rediscovering the ability to engage in nonverbal communication, such as smiling or clapping, humming, swaying to the music.
New research shows that there are many more advantages to using music therapy with people who have dementia.
1. Improves Mood And Immunity
A person’s disposition can be improved immediately with music therapy. While you may not have sought out the services of a music therapist per se, you have probably felt the surge of joy that comes from listening to a favorite song.
Or the warmth that comes from remembering a song your mother used to sing to you. Similarly, the depression and anxiety that frequently accompany dementia can be alleviated in an adult’s life by experiencing these emotions.
Singing along to music has additional health benefits, including improved lung function and excellent oxygen delivery to the brain. In addition, the immune system is yet another area that can benefit from singing and musical treatments.
2. It Serves as a Motivator to Get Moving
The motivation to get up and move around is one of music therapy’s most promising effects. Music can set the mood and get people moving with intention, whether applauding, swaying, or full-on dancing.
When performed in a therapeutic setting, this activity can improve a patient’s endurance, balance, and stamina, lowering their fall risk and enhancing their walking ability.
3. It Helps in Communicating More Clearly
If you’ve ever dealt with or provided care for someone with dementia, you know words aren’t always the best way to get your point through. Instead, emphasizing nonverbal cues like body language and eye contact can create a relaxed atmosphere.
When it comes to communicating with people who have dementia, music is a beautiful new tool. It can significantly improve their mood and the quality of their lives.
4. Improves Memory
The capacity of music to transport us back in time and reawaken long-forgotten memories is well known. This is the most important benefit of music for individuals with dementia.
The brain’s memory region is always functional regardless of the state of one’s health. It can be further strengthened by listening to music with an appropriate rhythm. Seniors with dementia may find this helpful in reviving long-lost memories.
5. Social Bonding
The motivation of your older loved ones to make new friends and acquaintances can be boosted with the help of music therapy. Besides helping people feel more in touch with their feelings, this exercise can also improve their ability to communicate and connect with others.
It’s also a great way to bond with family and friends as you enjoy one another’s company while jamming out to your favorite albums. In either case, your older relatives will feel more at ease and be more involved if you can carry on a conversation about something relevant to them.
6. Better Sleep
Older people with dementia who participate in music therapy report better sleep quality. This happens due to the therapy’s soothing effects on their autonomic nervous system.
The decreased heart rate, blood pressure, and calm breathing are all proofs of the same.
Getting a good night’s sleep helps them remember things better by reinforcing the brain linkages that makeup memories. Also, the brain can better convert newly gained knowledge into long-term memories by sleeping on it.
7. Reduces Agitation
Seniors who are experiencing stress-induced agitation may benefit from music and experience an improvement in their overall disposition and level of social engagement.
In cases of Sundowner’s Syndrome, “sedative music” (i.e., slower, more melodic ballads and lullabies) can assist patients in winding down before sleep.
However, “stimulative music” with rhythmic sounds and fast tempos can help get people up and moving.
8. Pain Management
Studies have shown that listening to music can help those with chronic pain. This happens by activating the senses and decreasing the patient’s pain perception.
Also, regular breathing can help you unwind, sleep better, and stimulate a more tranquil nervous system response.
The Bottom Line
We can improve the quality of life of people with dementia with the help of music, which has been shown to positively affect scientific studies.
Emotional and physical well-being can benefit from this, as can the individual’s ability to experience the environment in novel ways.
Music’s socializing and bonding powers are invaluable as an antidote to isolation. People living with dementia who have taken part in singing groups report that it has helped them accept and manage their illness.
As has been shown in several studies, people living with dementia and even those without the disease can benefit from music’s healing powers. Depressive, anxious, and stress symptoms can all be eased through musical expression.
Most songs only last a few minutes, but the positive effects on mood, behavior, and cognitive performance can linger for hours or even days.
In addition, singing has been shown to bring back long-forgotten recollections of childhood, friends, and even complete short stories in these investigations.
It’s hard to say why music is so powerful, but it’s apparent that it’s tied to many aspects of our identities and pasts, whether we have dementia. As a result, listening to music may be a great way to reflect on one’s history and appreciate one’s place in the world.
References
- https://www.arborcompany.com/blog/music-and-alzheimers-benefits-of-music-therapy
- https://training.mmlearn.org/blog/the-power-of-music-therapy-for-dementia
- https://www.dementiauk.org/music-therapy/
- https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org/blog/how-does-music-therapy-help-dementia-patients
- https://www.beingpatient.com/music-therapy-for-dementia/
- https://www.everydayhealth.com/alzheimers-disease/the-power-of-music-therapy-for-alzheimers-and-dementia-care/
- https://www.verywellhealth.com/using-music-in-alzheimers-disease-97624
- https://www.leisurecare.com/resources/music-therapy-dementia/
- https://www.kenwoodcare.com/blog/how-can-music-therapy-benefit-dementia-patients/
- https://myhometouch.com/articles/music-therapy-and-dementia
- https://www.nursenextdoor.com.au/blog/how-music-can-help-with-dementia/
- https://www.asccare.com/music-therapy-dementia/
- https://seasonsretirement.com/can-music-therapy-for-dementia-help-your-loved-one/
