Alzheimer's Music Therapy

Evidence based practice shows that music has had many positive effects on those with dementia when used as a form of treatment. In fact, some of the benefits that have resulted from music therapy are currently unachievable by other interventions. Music therapy is defined as “controlled use of music and its influence on the human being to aid in physiological, psychological and emotional integration of individual during treatment of an illness or disability” (Sung, Lee, Chang & Smith, 2011). Patients with advanced dementia display a variety of unfavorable behaviors that are unpleasant and difficult to

Dementia is the loss of cognition function. This condition is rapidly becoming a huge challenge as well a leading cause of mortality and morbidity of the 21st century, especially in the western world, and the current prediction rates of dementia indicate that it will worsen. The numbers of the individuals affected by the condition is anticipated to rise due to the ever expanding older population. Despite the menace of this condition, the power of music, particularly in singing to jerk or unlock past memories and kick start the grey matter of the brain is an incredible feature of dementia care. Using music seems to reach parts of the damaged patient’s brain in unique ways that other means cannot (Geretsegger et al. (2014). In senior adults with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other mental disorders, music therapy has shown capability of reducing agitated or aggressive behavior, improve cooperation with day-to-day activities such as bathing, improved mood, and reduce symptoms of dementia. Besides, music therapy can reduce the

In this research paper, the effectiveness of music therapy on the cognitive degenerative disorder of dementia will be evaluated. To support the contention that music therapy is effective in treating the symptoms of dementia, research documenting this therapy’s impact on memory, emotions, and behavior will be examined. In order to provide a greater understanding of music therapy and dementia, these terms will be defined. Second, research will be examined to determine music therapy’s impact on the psychological and behavioral issues associated with dementia. Finally, a summary of music therapy’s benefits and an evaluation of its effectiveness in treating individuals afflicted with dementia will be discussed.

The last technique of MT for dementia is combining music with activities. There are many more additional studies using MT which includes not only just melody but also with other activities like dancing, rhythmic movements, singing, playing instruments and more. Gómez-Gallego M and his colleagues asked forty-two minor to moderate AD to not only listen to the music they enjoy but also to dance, greet, play instruments and go on. The outcome of six-week intervention indicated that music with other activities could improve the cognitive status and alleviates neuropsychiatric symptoms of AD patients

As shown in Henry’s case, music therapy has significant benefits for dementia patients, with regard to both physiological and intellectual perspectives. Following his case, the author goes on to discuss music therapy from general viewpoint. According to the American Music Therapy Association, “Music therapy is the planned and creative use of music to attain and maintain health and well being” (Mattews, 2015). This definition is open ended, which illustrates that music therapy is not only restricted for treating dementia, but also designed for variety range of population, including autism, anxiety disorder, and mental disorder patients. Furthermore, Matthews says that music has four aspects which contributed to music therapy: “communal nature of its delivery, the rhythmic quality of composition, the entrancing effect of music’s mood, and the physiological arousal accompanying listening” (Matthews, 2015). Especially, people with dementia more likely to recall the rhythm, melody of music that they used to listen when younger. Thereupon, the power of music plays meaningful role to health care setting.

Along with varying music to achieve different beneficial results from Alzheimer’s patients, there are many different activities that can help engage and improve the mental state of patients with Alzheimer’s from the early stages of the disease’s

This is the playlist I created that I would listen to at ninety years old. After listening to the playlist it changed my mood,took me back through a lot of great times and even made me want to get up and dance. Music is a good source to link memorie and even help someone get through stressful times. Music can also help a person express their personality. This treatment modality is effective for people with dementia because it can be way to recover lost memories from childhood. If the person may have had a bad morning it can change their day. Certain songs may help connect signficiant events in their life. For some people if they enjoyed dancing dancing in the younger days would make them think about their dance moves. Dementia is defined as

Among them are creative therapies such as music therapy that has been found to improve cognition, memory, self-consciousness, and dementia. A study conducted by Rylatt (2012), examined the benefits of creative therapy for people with dementia. Participants were invited to take part in dance, drama, music and movement activities. Participants displayed enhanced communications, showed pleasure and enjoyment, improved engagement during activities, showing a positive response to creative therapy in individuals with dementia. Creative therapy was found to have useful result on the wellbeing of individuals with dementia. Music therapy is specific form of Creative therapy that encompasses many different techniques and administered by qualified music therapists who mediates treatment according to different patients based on the psychological and rehabilitative approaches. Music therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention that can reduce cognitive decline, improve neuropsychiatric symptoms, and enhance the quality of life of people living with Alzheimer’s disease (Fang, Ye, Huangfu, & Climag, 2017). It has been particularly beneficial for patients with dementia with improving disruptive behaviors, reducing anxiety and depression, improving cognitive functioning, increasing confidence, and positively change mood and emotional

Yet there are both medical and therapeutic treatments for those affected. If a caregiver chooses to take the medicine route you may see names like Aricept, Razadyne, Exelon, Namenda, Namzaric, these are the top five treatment options for Alzheimer’s (Bennington). Although these can be effective there are also therapeutic treatments that can be used and are just as effective if not slightly more effective. One therapy that can be used is pet therapy. The benefits of pet therapy include lowering anxiety and stress, encouraging communication, improving mood, and lowering blood pressure. People with Alzheimer's may feel especially comfortable with a pet because it lets them interact nonverbally (Scott). Pet therapy would be a great path if the person that is ill isn’t really comfortable with having to think or speak. It could even make them happier and decrease the severity of their symptoms. Listening to familiar music is also another therapy path a person could go down. People with Alzheimer's often "open up" and start to clap and sing along. In group settings, music may prompt listeners to reminisce about their past and interact with one another. At music therapy programs in adult day care or assisted living facilities, caregivers may arrange live performances or music with dancing, which has the added benefit of encouraging exercise (Scott). There are many videos floating around on

Three sophomore students in Kennebunk, Maine, are making a difference for the local elderly citizens through their music therapy organization: Project Playback. Alzheimer's and dementia have negative impacts on the human brain, and are more common in the elderly. Symptoms of each may include: extreme memory loss, difficulty thinking or understanding, delusion, disorientation, and overall mental decline. Jason Albaum (15), Juli Ennis (16), and Colby Ellis (16) have, for 3 years, been helping elderly Alzheimer's and dementia patients to bring back good memories from their earlier life by playing certain songs for them. Their contributions have made a positive impact on many elderly men & women’s lives. Recently, U.S. Cellular (through

I visited a patient with a dementia this week that normally responds well to music. Therefore, I utilized music therapy to engage the patient. My field instructor told me the genera of music that he enjoyed, so deciding on that was easy. I played several well known Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder songs. The intervention was successfully for about 15 minutes, in which he was tapping his foot and singing along. After 15 minutes, the patient began to lose focus and fell asleep. I would still say that the intervention was a success; it may have helped him fall asleep or have a pleasant dream.

Music can play an important role in Alzheimer's care. Read on to find out three ways it can help:

I found the podcast for music’s effect on dementia patients very interesting and phenomenon. Aside from what lessens dementia, dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability. In the podcast, Dan Cohen came up with a mnemonic device to allow dementia patients to remember things or enjoy things that they had forgotten due to their study findings. Mnemonic devices are memory devices that help learners recall larger pieces of information, the device in this case was the music because it helped the patients to regain lost memories. The man named Henry was astounding how he went from being slumped to singing something he heard or listened to a long time. Apparently they came to realize that by dementia patients listening to music they

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was any significant difference between the effects and usefulness of music therapy compared to general activities, on reducing agitation in people with dementia. The study was also used to determine if music therapy warranted any immediate effects on symptom improvement, as opposed to solely long-term effects.

Aside from emotions, music can also have an impact on mental illnesses like ADHD, depression, and dementia. To combat depression, Cadena states that “music therapy alleviates pain and promotes calmness by slowing the heart rate and other bodily functions” (2). It provides the patient with a means of escape from the stressful and painful ordeals of life, and can even encourage them to recover from depression. To help children with ADHD, music therapy and medications can be used conjointly. Music, Cadena affirms, “can provide a calming, sedative affect and assist a child with focusing on the task at hand” (2). In regards to dementia, a study was done to investigate the effects that music would have on people with the disease. The findings demonstrated that “mean agitation levels were significantly lower while listening to music than before listening to the music” (3).