Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Prescribe Some Musical Favorites To Get Better Cognitive Health!

I not long ago browsed a story on the Wall Street Journal website about the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The article stated that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that people who use them tend to stay away from conversations with other people and remain in an isolated world of their own. However, recent observations of stroke and Alzheimer's patients are revealing that iPods and other MP3 devices in many cases have the opposite end results.

By listening to some old often encountered songs, advanced dementia patients can relink with their memories and with each other in some surprising 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 victim to resume walking and use his hands again.

In another case, 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 favorite opera and Yiddish songs each day on an iPod with a home health aide or her daughter when she comes to visit. According to her daughter they listen for at least 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 still remember and sing tunes long after they have stopped recognizing names and faces. Hospitals and aging care facilities have been using music as diversion for a long time, since it causes patients pleasure. Now, beyond the entertainment value, there is significant evidence that listening to music can also help improve apparently lost memories, and even help restore cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)

As a senior citizen 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 cognizant that many of you will be skeptical because you think such devices are too complicated for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite efficacious in minimizing memory loss due to aging. Now we discover 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 Alzheimer's, 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 and discerning in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a perfect example.

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