Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Prescribe Some Good Tunes For Better Cognitive Health!

I not long ago read a writeup on the Wall Street Journal website concerning the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The report stated that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that people who use them are apt to withdraw from conversations with other people and remain in an isolated world of their own. However, recent studies 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 well known music, advanced dementia patients can relink with their memories and with each other in some extraordinary ways, especially for people with degenerative brain disorders. For example, as reported in 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 example, a 52 year-old man who fell from a fourth-floor building site and suffered a crushed larynx became so fascinated 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 about half an 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 highly useful. 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. Furthermore, beyond the enjoyment 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 conscious that many of you will be doubtful because you think such devices are too complex for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite useful in minimizing memory loss due to aging. Now we discover that the musical functions can be helpful even for those who have already begun to experience memory loss.

Well, okay, you might decline 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 amazing for those who are willing to be creative and wise in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a perfect example.

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