Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Prescribe Some Good Tunes To Prompt Memory Recovery!

I just now saw a report on the Wall Street Journal website about the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The content stated that one of the criticisms of iPods is that persons who use them seem to stay away from communication with other folks and stay in an isolated universe of their own. However, recent observations of stroke and dementia patients are disclosing that iPods and other MP3 players in many instances have the reverse effect.

By listening to some old often encountered tunes, advanced dementia patients can reconnect with their memories and with each other in some remarkable ways, especially for those with degenerative brain conditions. To illustrate, according to 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 instance, a 52 year-old man who fell out of a fourth-floor building site and suffered a crushed larynx became so charmed 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 visits. 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 profoundly effective. They have observed for decades that dementia sufferers can still remember and sing songs long after they have stopped knowing names and faces. Hospitals and nursing homes have been using music as enjoyment for a long time, because it brings patients pleasure. Now, beyond the pleasure value, there is significant evidence that listening to music can also help stimulate apparently lost memories, and even help reclaim cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)

As a senior myself I am a big fan of iPods and related devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is pretty much an iPod with a phone built into it. I am cognizant that many of you will be suspicious because you think such devices are too complex for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite effectual in minimizing memory loss due to aging. Now we have discovered that the musical capabilities can be helpful even for those who have already experienced cognitive decline.

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 amazingly beneficial for those who are willing to be creative and attentive in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a classic example.

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