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Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Prescribe Some Old Tunes For Brain Health!
I not long ago browsed a report on the Wall Street Journal website concerning the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The post stated that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that people who use them tend to shun conversations with other people and stay in an isolated world of their own. However, recent observations of stroke and Alzheimer's patients are revealing that iPods and other MP3 players in many cases have the opposite effect.
By listening to some old well known songs, advanced dementia patients can link back with their memories and with each other in some surprising ways, especially for folks with degenerative brain disorders. As an example, according to the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod each day helped a 28-year-old stroke victim to start to walking and use his hands again.
In another case, a 52 year-old man who fell out of a fourth-floor building site and suffered a crushed larynx became so absorbed with music that he has written 400 songs and produced 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 comes to visit. According to her daughter they listen for at least 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 effective. They have observed for decades that dementia patients can still remember and sing tunes long after they have stopped recognizing names and faces. Hospitals and nursing homes have been using music as diversion for a long time, since it brings patients pleasure. Furthermore, beyond the amusement value, there is significant evidence that listening to music can also help improve 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 equivalent devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is basically an iPod with a phone built into it. I am conscious that many of you will be cynical because you think such devices are too complicated for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite efficacious in minimizing memory loss due to aging. Now we discover that the musical capabilities can be helpful even for those who have already begun to experience memory loss.
Well, okay, you might not want to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing cognitive decline, 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 great for those who are willing to be creative and farsighted in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a perfect example.
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