Music Therapy Dementia

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

For dementia patients, music from a person’s childhood or young adult years has proven to be effective in obtaining a positive response and involvement (and this happens even when the patient can no longer communicate). Music has been shown to help seniors process their thoughts and recall/maintain

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

Music and the sounds that surround us have a way of affecting us before we even enter this world. David Burrows, a music teacher at New York University explains this concept by saying “An unborn child may startle in the womb at the sound of a door slamming shut. The rich, warm cacophony of the womb has been recorded: the mother’s heartbeat and breathing are among the earliest indicators babies have the existence of a world beyond their own skin.” (Storr). This is something a person never outgrows. Whether we intend on it happening or not, the sounds by which we are surrounded affect our mental patterns. Nevertheless, music has the ability to help us heal emotionally and combat our current mental state.

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

Music has always been emotionally evocative to me since I was young. I am always able to recall just how extreme the atmosphere and mood can be enhanced by music. Whether at a bitter-sweet moment in a TV show or at a heroic moment in a video game music is always there to multiply the emotions of the scene tenfold. Even today I find myself recalling emotions and feeling them all over again whenever I listen to a particular piece of music, especially so for ones that went along with a highly memorable scene in a show or game. I wind up pumping my fist in the air all over again if inspiring, or fighting back tears if morose. I never knew why music affected me so or how, and so after learning of this assignment I decided it was time I looked into it. Why this story matters is simple. It is simply the reason I ever asked this question. I wanted to know why music could affect emotions to such an extent, and why it could leave such lasting impacts.

There are many different kinds of music today, but I seem to connect more to those that make me ponder on about life. At times I look to music for guidance when making a decision. . Music can turn on and turn off the brain. It simply allows ourselves to manifest a connection between the song and our emotions. In the novel Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older Robbie is a character that I

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

Although I found merit in how music therapy decreases behavioral symptoms of AD and dementia, I was even more concerned how it effects on memory. I kept thinking about the different stories of the residents in the documentary Alive Inside. My previous research explained the response that Henry had in the documentary Alive Inside. In fact, his response surfaced in social media where he seemingly awakens from a cationic state after listening to jazz and his favorite music. After his therapy, he starts to sing, smile, and laugh; however, I was even more perplexed by the opening scene of the documentary where they interview a resident who cannot remember her life before she was a young woman. After listening to the song “When the Saints go marching

Our brains are hardwired to automatically link music to important times or parts of our lives

In this qualitative randomized clinical study, Vink, Zuidersma, Boersma, de Jonge, Zuidema, and Slaets (2013) illustrate the effects of music therapy on dementia patients with general recreational daily activities. Subjects have chosen dementia patients for this study (n = 94) and they classified into two groups in which one group was specific for music therapy (n = 47), another group allocated from recreational activities (n = 34). Some of the subjects are excluded from the study because subject data was missing and therefore, deceased. Data was collected and analyzed from 77 subjects.

How can different types of music affect people’s emotions? Music has many different ways to affect people. In some ways, it is good for the body both physically and mentally. In other ways, people think it is nice to listen to. More detailed, music has personalities, which can express what people feel. There are many observations involving different ways to express human emotions. Emotions are very interesting things, especially when they involve music. Music can have many personalities, affect people’s emotions, and be used as therapy.

Individuals who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease suffer from a loss of memories due to the deterioration of the brain’s wiring. Music therapy, although only deeply researched and experimented on during the past decade or so, has ignited new possibilities for treating agitation and anxiety in moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. This essay investigates how effects of music therapy of different cultures help alleviate different stages of Alzheimer’s disease through autobiographical memory renewal.