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| Music Can Help People with Dementia |
Music is so powerful! I have
worked with dementia patients, and even though they may not have spoken for
years, the moment I begin engaging them with music and songs - they begin
singing along! Read more from this Los
Angeles Times article.
Memory: The
progressive degeneration of memory in Alzheimer's disease cannot be reversed or
slowed by any intervention. But music can temporarily unlock memories for
patients who have lost their grip on nearly every other detail of their daily
life and relationships.
Patients in
the depths of Alzheimer's and other dementias regularly respond to — and even
play and sing — music from their distant past, without missing a word or a note.
Nursing homes have seized upon that fact, exposing residents to the songs of
their childhoods or courtship years to help reunite spouses in dancing and
singing and try to coax dementia sufferers from their isolation. One study even
found that dementia patients allowed to punch a button on a robot and hear a
familiar song experienced improved mood, function and performance on musical
memory games.
