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Music Therapy for Seniorsmusic for seniors

 

Music enhances celebrations, rituals and special occasions. And music also has a therapeutic effect for seniors and people with disabilities.

 

Studies have shown detectable brain changes when a person is listening to music. Music influences brain waves, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and muscle tone. It provides many important health benefits. For example:

 

  • Music has been shown to lessen the perception of pain. Music provides distraction from aches and illness. Indeed, listening to music that a person enjoys can actually raise the level of endorphins, the brain chemicals linked with a feeling of well-being.

 

  • Music has the capacity to reach hidden brain areas. It is stored differently in the brain than are speech and memory. This is why people who have Alzheimer’s, stroke or other conditions that cause a diminished ability to speak may still be able to sing even when they have trouble carrying on a conversation

 

  • Music enhances memory. Many people with dementia become more aware of the present, of their surroundings, and of other people while listening to music. Music serves as a “storehouse” for memories, because thoughts and vivid recollections can all be “encoded” in music.

 

  • Music is a wonderful resource for people with visual impairment. It provides another way of staying in touch with the world.

 

  • Music encourages seniors to be more physically active. What’s more fun, calisthenics or dancing? With the addition of music, movements become a pleasure rather than a chore.

 

  • Music can improve sleep quality. Recent studies show that seniors with sleep problems experienced improvement after listening to soft music at bedtime.

 

  • Music brings people together. People who “co-experience” the same rhythms, moods and neurological responses enjoy a togetherness which is familiar to concertgoers or church congregations. Listening to music together enhances communication, and can lend a sense of unity to people of different abilities and of different generations. Music helps us interact with others and feel part of a group.

 

  • Music can have positive emotional effects. It can uplift the spirit. It can reduce anxiety, stress and agitation. Music which is associated with pleasant memories can be a source of relaxation. And the therapeutic use of music has been shown to be effective in reducing depression.

 

  • Music provides intellectual stimulation and a sense of meaning and fulfillment. Reacting to music in one’s own way is a good form of mental exercise. Recent imaging studies show that as we listen to music, our brains get a good “workout,” as it makes sense of the patterns and melodies.


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