Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Use Some Good Tunes For Memory Recovery!

I recently saw a bulletin on the Wall Street Journal website about the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The writing indicated that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that persons who use them tend to stay away from friendships with other folks and remain in an insulated universe of their own. However, recent monitoring of stroke and Alzheimer's patients are revealing that iPods and other MP3 players frequently have the reverse result.

By listening to some old common music, advanced Alzheimer's patients can relink with their memories and with others in some surprising ways, especially for those with degenerative brain problems. To illustrate, as stated in the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod every day prompted a 28-year-old stroke sufferer to resume walking and make use of his hands again.

In another case, a 52 year-old man who fell out of a fourth-floor construction site and suffered a crushed larynx became so charmed with music that he wrote 400 songs and made four albums. An 85-year-old dementia 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 visits. 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 known for many years that music therapy in dementia patients can be profoundly efficacious. They have observed for decades that Alzheimer's sufferers can remember and sing tunes for some time after they have stopped recognizing names and faces. Hospitals and nursing homes have been using music as amusement for a long time, because it causes patients pleasure. Now, beyond the delight value, there is important evidence that listening to music can also help improve apparently lost memories, and even help reclaim cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)

As a senior citizen myself I am a big fan of iPods and comparable devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is pretty much an iPod with a telephone built into it. I am cognizant that many of you will be dubious because you think such devices are too difficult for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite useful in reducing memory loss due to aging. Now we discover that the musical capabilities can be helpful even for those who have already begun to suffer cognitive decline.

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 very helpful for those who are willing to be imaginative and wise in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a classic example.

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