Sing for the memories: Music therapy for seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease

Sing for the memories: Music therapy for seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease

During these times when the pandemic has left us with no other choice but stay indoors, there’s really nothing much you can do but dig deep into your creative mind to keep boredom at bay.

Watch the video below to find out more:

This rings true, especially for our senior loved ones with dementia who are living with us and our families. Caring for them, especially for those in advanced stages of dementia, has already proven to be quite challenging, and the difficulty may have gone up a few notches higher these days.

A few weeks ago, we talked about art therapy as an engaging and stimulating approach to dementia care based on the Montessori approach. This time around, let’s explore a bit of another approach to dementia care that offers a lot of positive impact on the well-being of our senior loved ones: music therapy.

Music is very powerful and invigorating. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, studies have shown that “music may reduce agitation and improve behavioral issues” that are most commonly associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This idea is also supported by Jonathan Graff-Radford, MD, in a separate study in 2019, when he elaborated that musical memories are often preserved in the brains of people with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease because “key brain areas linked to musical memory are relatively undamaged by the disease.”

Here are some encouraging impacts of music therapy to the lives of our senior loved ones living with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

1. Helps promote a shift in mood to manage aggressive or agitated behavior due to stress;

2. Establishes positive interaction and emotional connection with others;

3. Helps improve cognitive function;

4. Helps promote better motor movements.

Some ways to incorporate music therapy into your care methods for seniors living with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease include the following:

• Put together a playlist that evokes happy, positive memories for your senior loved one. Encourage other family users, friends, or relatives to share ideas;

• Play mellow, soothing music in the background to ease your loved one’s emotional state. You may do this while preparing them for mealtime, bathing, medication, or sleeping;

• Expose them to music in a controlled manner. Too much noise or using inappropriate music may cause confusion or agitation.

As the one providing care, feel free to get involved by singing or humming along with the music to encourage seniors to do the same. Studies reveal that singing has a tremendous positive impact in helping improve cognitive functions among seniors living with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, experts note that singing may even improve a senior person’s ability to recall names of children, friends, and immediate short story recall.

Music therapy is one of the things that our memory care specialists at GCS can also incorporate into the care plan for your senior loved ones receiving in-home dementia care. Get in touch with us to know more about this.