Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Use An MP3 Player To Get Better Cognitive Health!

I recently looked over a bulletin on the Wall Street Journal website about the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The post stated that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that folks who use them are apt to stay away from relationships with other folks and stay in an insulated world of their own. However, recent observations of stroke and Alzheimer's sufferers are revealing that iPods and other MP3 players often have the reverse consequence.

By listening to some old common songs, advanced dementia patients can link back with their memories and with others in some extraordinary ways, especially for those with degenerative brain diseases. To cite an example, as stated in the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod every day helped a 28-year-old stroke victim to start to walking and make use of his hands again.

In another example, a 52 year-old man who fell out of a fourth-floor construction site and suffered a crushed larynx became so captivated with music that he wrote 400 songs and made 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 drops by. According to her daughter they listen for at least a half-hour a day and "It seems to touch something deep within her."

Caregivers have known for many years that music therapy in dementia patients can be very effectual. They have observed for decades that Alzheimer's patients can still remember and sing tunes for some time after they have stopped recognizing names and faces. Hospitals and nursing homes have been using music as recreation for a long time, because it brings patients pleasure. Now, beyond the amusement value, there is significant evidence that listening to music can also help improve apparently lost memories, and even help reconstruct 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 similar devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is pretty much an iPod with a phone built into it. I am cognizant 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 reducing memory loss due to aging. Now we discover that the musical capabilities can be helpful even for those who have already suffered cognitive decline.

Well, okay, you may not want to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing Alzheimer's, 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 discerning in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a consummate example.

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