Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Utilize Some Good Tunes To Aid With Better Cognitive Health!
I not long ago saw a report on the Wall Street Journal website concerning the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The article indicated that one of the criticisms of iPods is that people who use them tend to stay away from relationships with other people and remain in an insulated universe of their own. However, recent monitoring of stroke and Alzheimer's sufferers are showing that iPods and other MP3 players routinely have the reverse consequence.
By listening to some old well known tunes, advanced Alzheimer's patients can relink with their memories and with others in some surprising ways, especially for people with degenerative brain problems. For instance, according to the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod each day helped a 28-year-old stroke sufferer to resume walking and make use of his hands again.
In another occurrence, a 52 year-old man who fell from a fourth-floor construction site and suffered a crushed larynx became so fascinated with music that he composed 400 songs and produced four albums. An 85-year-old Alzheimer's 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 about half an 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 remarkably useful. They have observed for decades that dementia patients can remember and sing tunes for some time after they have stopped recognizing names and faces. Hospitals and aging care facilities have been using music as diversion for a long time, since it brings patients pleasure. Furthermore, beyond the pleasure value, there is significant 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 supporter 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 suspicious because you think such devices are too complicated for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite useful in slowing memory loss due to aging. Now we realize that the musical features can be helpful even for those who have already experienced memory loss.
Well, okay, you may not want to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing dementia, 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 creative and attentive in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a consummate illustration.
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