Music is woven into our daily lives. Whether it lifts our spirits, inspires us to run faster, or calms us down to sleep, we can all recognize its power. Therefore, it is no wonder that its use in medicine is increasing.
Researchers have made major advances in the use of music to help dementia patients, as well as proving extremely helpful in cancer treatment, chronic pain management, and even brain recovery after stroke. has been achieved.
By increasing everyone’s ability to adapt and cope with adversity and stress, it reduces anxiety and depression in patients and improves the well-being of both patients and their caregivers.
Music therapy, in the form of playing, singing, and listening to music, may also have a positive effect on cognitive function, especially in older adults with dementia or memory loss.
So why does music have such a powerful effect on people with dementia?
music and brain
About a decade ago, researchers discovered that when people listen to music, multiple areas of the brain are involved in processing the music. These include the limbic system (processes emotions and memory), the cognitive cortex (involved in perception, learning, and reactions), and the motor cortex (responsible for voluntary movement).
This challenged the preconception that music is processed more narrowly in the brain and helped explain why music has such unique neurological effects.
Not only that, but studies have shown that music may help regenerate the brain and its connections. Many of the causes of dementia center around cell death in the brain, raising the possibility that music can help people with dementia by repairing or strengthening damaged neural connections and cells.
However, music is not the only thing that has a regenerative effect on the brain. Familiar and favorite music has been shown to have the greatest impact on our mood and is closely tied to our memories and emotions.
This is because when you listen to your favorite songs, feel-good hormones are secreted, making you feel happy. A carefully selected music playlist of your favorite music can be the key to helping you cope with the stresses of everyday life.
It is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. That’s because researchers have found that parts of the brain associated with musical memory are less affected by these symptoms than other areas of the brain. This explains why for people with such symptoms, memories and experiences associated with their favorite music are often preserved.
Listening to music can also help manage the “sunset” experience, which is a period of distress, agitation, and increased confusion in the afternoon and evening.
A small study conducted by us and colleagues at the Cambridge Institute of Music Therapy showed just how powerful listening to music can be for people with dementia. We found that when people with dementia repeatedly listen to their favorite music, their heart rate and movement directly change.
This showed that people’s physical reactions were influenced by musical features such as rhythm and arrangement. My heart rate also changed when I started remembering old memories and stories while singing along to music, listening to songs, and thinking about music.
These changes are important because they show how music affects movement, emotion, and memory recall.
Studies have also shown that while and after listening to music, dementia patients were less agitated, aggressive, and anxious, and their overall mood improved. When I had regular music sessions, I also needed less medication.
Other researchers have begun to test the effectiveness of music training programs to support cognitive function in people with dementia. The results so far have been promising, with adults in the study showing improvements in executive function (problem solving, emotional regulation, and attention) compared to adults who simply engaged in physical exercise. Shown.
Therefore, music is likely to continue to be a useful treatment for dementia patients. But based on what we know so far, it’s important that it’s from the patient’s own music collection, and that it helps slow the progression of dementia and supports self-care and health. It is used in conjunction with other management techniques, including the use of medications to help manage it. .
Rebecca Atkinson, Research Fellow in Music Therapy, Anglia Ruskin University; Minhun Su, Senior Research Fellow in Music Therapy, Anglia Ruskin University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
