Alzheimer’s can be pretty heart wrenching for relatives of the person and extremely confusing for the patient. Tons of complicated ideas and medications coupled with advice from people who have never dealt with it will only get you so far. Music has always been considered a treatment that can help any condition or at least make it more bearable.
When it comes to Alzheimer’s music is a powerful tool and can reduce the outbursts from the person diagnosed and help their overall behaviour. In every stage, music has benefits that could make a painful journey slightly less painful. Patients have been heard humming a tune or playing a song that was part of their childhood even in the late stages of the condition.
What music works for the patient?
Selecting the right music for the patient comes down to their own life experience and tastes. Ideally, having the patient select the music for themselves or selecting songs from their past could be a good option.
Another tip to keep in mind is that music is powerful in general so choose music depending on what sort of mood you want to create. The genre of music can make a difference for any listener including people suffering from Alzheimer’s. While the patient is listening to the music, try not to disturb them. Alternatively, you could introduce the idea of singing along and dancing to the music. More than anything observe their response to the music after so that you can change it if necessary or keep the track in mind depending on what the patient thinks of it.
How does music benefit the patients?
Brings back memories
Music is a great method for Alzheimer patients to remember the past. It will depend on which events they associate with the music. Musical appreciation is one of the abilities that lasts the longest and almost till the very end for patients. This means it can be a great way to connect with the patient and have some great moments together.
Helps treat depression and anxiety
Music can help calm senior citizens suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s and make them calmer. It immediately improves their mood and makes them happier overall. Music is helpful for people suffering from stress and the same applies to patients with Alzheimer’s.
Improves cognitive skills
People that sing along or dance to the music have seen an improvement in their cognitive skills. They have also seemed happier as time went on. Various studies have come to the conclusion that listening to certain songs can help people suffering from Alzheimer’s engage with others better as well.
