Music Therapy Can Help Cope With Dementia And Enhance Quality Of Life

If you have a loved one with Alzheimer’s or another kind of dementia, you may be interested to know that music might be able to connect you with your family member in more ways than one. Coping with a loved one living with dementia is extremely challenging. But music has the power to completely transform the day of someone struggling with memory issues as many research studies have cited situations where music was able to evoke a response or a memory in individuals with Alzheimer’s, which again can be attributed to the fact that people respond to music from a very early stage, before words and language are developed, and this continues even towards the end of our lives, when verbal abilities may be lost. According to one study, people with Alzheimer’s saw an immediate, measurable increase in happiness, eye contact, and talkativeness, and a decrease in fatigue just after 20 minutes of listening to music.

Regularly playing music for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia can therefore be immensely beneficial, it may inspire an emotional reaction in them. It’s called “Music Therapy.” Music therapy can be used to communicate or engage with someone who has been diagnosed with dementia, even if they no longer speak or respond to other people’s words. For instance, your father may have difficulty finding the right words to use but singing an entire song is a cakewalk.

Caring for someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s isn’t easy. It can weigh heavily on your heart. Allowing someone to take over the daily care routine will ease the load and allow you to be the spouse, daughter, son or grandchild again. Senior Sanctuary of Anthem in Phoenix is an award-winning assisted living facility, known for specialized care for people with Alzheimer’s through our thoughtfully designed environment and dedicated life enrichment activities.

Finding the Right Music– We all have certain styles of music that moves us and causes emotion, mostly associated with something in our past. Music has the ability to take us back in time, evoke memories of happy times and take us to happy places in our minds. It’s advisable to choose music that meant something to your loved one, such as a favorite song, a piece of music from their wedding, or a tune they used to sing to their children. Music can awaken negative emotions as well, so watch your loved one closely for any signs of discomfort and turn the music off if you think it is causing undue distress. Creating a powerful personalized playlist can help people with Alzheimer’s and dementia reconnect with memories triggered by music.

Music Therapy through the Stages of Dementia– In the early stages of Alzheimer’s or dementia, many people enjoy playing music or singing. Encourage them to continue to be involved in music, it can be very motivating, eliciting feelings of accomplishment.

In the middle stages, some people can continue to play a musical instrument (that they may have played) well, and benefit from it, while others may become frustrated when they forget the chord or can’t read the music as a person loses the abilities to remember and function physically at a high-enough level (in this stage). Recorded music, though can distract your loved one. Utilize music’s distracting power that also helps with physical activities like exercise. The middle stages are also when sleep becomes more difficult, and music may be beneficial to mood and sleep patterns for people with Alzheimer’s. Regularly listening to music is known to elevate levels of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleeping.

In the later stages, music is often used as a way to connect with a loved one and evoke a response. People in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s or dementia have been shown to perk up when they hear music they like, demonstrably relaxing and becoming more responsive, with better eye contact and talkativeness, and less fatigue.

Memory care communities like Senior Sanctuary of Anthem in Phoenix, AZ has been long utilizing the benefits of playing music to enhance the quality of lives of our residents with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.