Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Use Some Musical Favorites For Brain Health!
I recently saw a writeup on the Wall Street Journal website related to the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The report stated that one of the criticisms of iPods is that folks who use them seem to evade communication with other folks and remain in an isolated universe of their own. However, recent monitoring of stroke and dementia patients are disclosing that iPods and other MP3 devices frequently have the opposite effect.
By listening to some old often encountered tunes, advanced Alzheimer's patients can reconnect with their memories and with others in some extraordinary ways, especially for those with degenerative brain problems. To illustrate, as reported by the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod each day prompted a 28-year-old stroke sufferer to resume walking and make use of his hands again.
In another instance, a 52 year-old man who fell out of a fourth-floor construction site and suffered a crushed larynx became so beguiled with music that he has written 400 songs and made 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 visits. According to her daughter they listen for somewhere around one-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 extremely efficacious. They have observed for decades that Alzheimer's sufferers can still remember and sing songs for some time 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. Moreover, beyond the amusement value, there is significant evidence that listening to music can also help stimulate 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 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 aware that many of you will be cynical because you think such devices are too complex for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite useful in reducing memory loss due to aging. Now we have discovered that the musical functionality can be helpful even for those who have already experienced memory loss.
Well, okay, you might decline 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 wise in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a great illustration.
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