Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Utilize Some Old Tunes In Support Of Memory Health!

I not long ago browsed a story on the Wall Street Journal website concerning the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The article said that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that folks who use them are inclined to evade conversations with other people and remain in an isolated world of their own. However, recent monitoring of stroke and Alzheimer's sufferers are disclosing that iPods and other MP3 devices in many cases have the opposite end results.

By listening to some old well known songs, advanced Alzheimer's patients can link back with their memories and with one another in some remarkable ways, especially for those with degenerative brain disorders. As an example, as stated by the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod each day helped a 28-year-old stroke patient to start to walking and utilize his hands again.

In another instance, a 52 year-old man who fell from a fourth-floor building site and suffered a crushed larynx became so absorbed with music that he composed 400 songs and produced four albums. An 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient in Florida listens to her beloved opera and Yiddish songs each day on an iPod with a home health aide or her daughter when she drops by. According to her daughter they listen for about a half-hour a day and "It seems to touch something deep within her."

Caregivers have been aware for many years that music therapy in dementia patients can be extraordinarily efficacious. They have observed for decades that dementia patients can recall and sing tunes for an extended time after they have stopped knowing names and faces. Hospitals and aging care facilities have been using music as diversion for a long time, since it causes patients pleasure. Furthermore, beyond the entertainment value, there is meaningful evidence that listening to music can also help improve apparently lost memories, and even help reconstruct cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)

As a golden-ager myself I am a big supporter of iPods and equivalent devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is basically an iPod with a telephone built into it. I am conscious that many of you will be skeptical because you think such devices are too difficult for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite efficacious in slowing memory loss due to aging. Now we have determined that the musical functionality can be helpful even for those who have already begun to experience memory loss.

Well, okay, you might decide not to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing cognitive decline, but such a device can certainly be used, under supervision, to provide the kinds of music therapy in dementia patients set out in this article. Technology can be highly beneficial for those who are willing to be creative thinkers and farsighted in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a consummate illustration.

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