Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Prescribe Some Musical Favorites To Prompt A Better Memory!

I not long ago read a broadcast on the Wall Street Journal website about the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The report stated that one of the criticisms of iPods is that people who use them are likely to evade friendships with other people and stay in an isolated universe of their own. However, recent studies of stroke and dementia patients are showing that iPods and other MP3 devices routinely have the opposite outcome.

By listening to some old often encountered music, advanced dementia patients can reconnect with their memories and with each other in some astonishing ways, especially for people with degenerative brain problems. For example, as reported by the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod each day prompted a 28-year-old stroke victim to learn to walk and use his hands again.

In another occurrence, a 52 year-old man who fell from a fourth-floor construction site and suffered a crushed larynx became so fascinated with music that he has written 400 songs and produced four albums. An 85-year-old dementia patient in Florida listens to her favorite opera and Yiddish songs every day on an iPod with a home health aide or her daughter when she comes to visit. According to her daughter they listen for somewhere around about half an hour a day and "It seems to touch something deep within her."

Caregivers have known for many years that music therapy in dementia patients can be highly effective. They have observed for decades that dementia sufferers can still remember and sing songs long after they have stopped recalling names and faces. Hospitals and aging care facilities have been using music as amusement for a long time, since it brings patients pleasure. Now, beyond the enjoyment value, there is significant evidence that listening to music can also help stimulate apparently lost memories, and even help rebuild cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)

As a old-timer myself I am a big supporter of iPods and comparable devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is basically an iPod with a phone built into it. I am cognizant 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 effective in minimizing memory loss due to aging. Now we realize that the musical functionality can be helpful even for those who have already begun to suffer memory loss.

Well, okay, you might not want 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 amazing for those who are willing to be creative and thoughtful in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a perfect illustration.

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