Make music part of an overall treatment plan for people who have dementia.

Music for music’s sake can have wondrous results. But music can be so much more. For example, music is one of our best tools for reminiscence therapy.

Reminiscence Music

A 2000 study³ reported in the Journal of Music Therapy found reminiscence music to be effective against depression: “Results indicated that participation in small group reminiscence focused music therapy groups might help to reduce depressive symptoms in elderly people with dementia.”  Another group reported⁴ in International Psychogeriatrics “Music therapy is a safe and effective method for treating agitation and anxiety in moderately severe and severe AD.”

Reminiscence music is different for everyone. Music by The Beatles, Crosby, Stills and Nash, the Moody Blues and other groups of that era cause all sorts of memories to flood into my head. But sometimes so does a song by Frank Sinatra, or even Doris Day can do the trick. I can remember specifically once sitting at the kitchen table while my mom was washing the dishes, listening to Doris Day sing Que Sera, Sera. I couldn’t have been more than six years old.

If your not sure what music will be best for reminiscence for a certain individual, play music that was popular when that person was younger, anywhere from his childhood until his middle twenties is a good place to start. If the music brings a smile to his face it will likely do the trick. If he smiles and starts singing, make darned sure you keep that song.

Background Music

 Structured music therapy sessions are beneficial, but music can also be helpful when used in a less formal way.  A report¹ in the Journal of Music Therapy (Winter 2007) found twenty-eight people with Alzheimer’s, “show clear increase in positive behaviors, such as conversation, smiling, or moving to the rhythm, and a reduction in negative behavior such as wandering, fidgeting and showing aggression towards others,”  when music was played in the background.

A study⁴ (International Psychogeriatrics:  2006 International Psychogeriatric Association doi:10.1017) concluded that music therapy reduces “activity disturbances” in people with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. The authors of this study conclude that, “activity disturbances and anxiety can be affected by the patient’s participation in music therapy.”

One observation of the authors of this latter study that I find particularly intriguing is that, “active participation in music sessions could give some meaning to the lives of patients who have lost the ability to create meaningful activity. Their desire for activity would subsequently be met and symptoms of meaningless activities lessened.” This supports our contention that providing meaningful, age-and stage-appropriate activity is one of the most important things you, as a carer, can do for you care partner.

Incorporating music into the daily care regimen of individuals with dementia may indeed be a valuable strategy and cost effective therapeutic intervention to reduce the overall incidence of agitated behavior and decrease the need for restraints.

Exercise to Music

Exercise is more enjoyable when done with music, and it likely is more effective.

We know that exercise keeps the body and the brain healthy. Scientists are also starting to see a reverse correlation between exercise and dementia. And what better accompaniment to a workout is there? Whether you are training for a marathon or leading an exercise group in an assisted living community, the right music makes the workout so much better.

Music and Memory

Then there is a 2010 study² published in Neuropshchologia that concluded that, “patients with AD (Alzheimer’s disease) performed better on a task of recognition memory for the lyrics of songs when those lyrics were accompanied at encoding by a sung recording than when they were accompanied by a spoken recording. These results suggest a fundamental difference in the encoding and retrieval processes for musical versus non-musical stimuli between patients with AD and healthy older adults.”  This suggests to me that we may be able to use the brains plasticity to re-teach certain basic skills that have been lost to dementia.

And if you want to be really amazed, check out the post Music and the Brain! >>