When Glen Campbell took the stage at the Grammy Awards and accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award, he did so as one of the more than 5 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. What is inspiring about the 75-year-old Campbell’s Grammy night appearance is that he has not retired from his love of making music despite his recent diagnosis. In fact, he is starting his Farewell Tour and is cutting a new album.
Is music one of the keys to a longer, happier life – despite your health issues?
The news about Campbell got me thinking about studies and articles I have read about music therapy. Although music has been with us since the dawn of time, in the last few decades studies have found that music as a therapeutic tool can increase cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients, help premature infants gain weight, encourage autistic children to communicate, lead stroke patients to regain speech and mobility, control pain for dental, surgical and orthopedic patients, and manage anxiety and depression for psychiatric patients.
Dr. Oliver Sacks, a renowned neurologist and psychologist at Columbia University Medical Center best known for his 1973 book Awakenings, which became an Academy Award-nominated film starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, and who also wrote Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, testified at the Hearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging entitled, “Forever Young: Music and Aging,” and issued this statement:
“The power of music is very remarkable… One sees Parkinsonian patients unable to walk, but able to dance perfectly well or patients almost unable to talk, who are able to sing perfectly well… I think that music therapy and music therapists are crucial and indispensable in institutions for elderly people and among neurologically disabled patients.”
The Magic Brain Workout Is Music
Since music is associated with one of the five senses — hearing — which is controlled by the brain it makes sense that we should exercise our brains with music listening to spur cognitive function in the same way we use physical therapy to exercise our limbs, muscles and joints to regain mobility and physical function.
When it comes to Alzheimer’s patients, studies have shown that music reduces agitation or improves behavioral issues such as violent outbursts. In one pilot program, 45 patients with mid- to late-stage dementia had one hour of personalized music therapy, three times a week, for 10 months, and improved their scores on a cognitive-function test by 50 percent on average. One patient in the study recognized his wife for the first time in months. Another music therapy study showed that stroke victims can learn to walk and use their hands again.
Read More :
Caregivers Take Note – Music as Therapy » Alzheimer's Association | Blog
Is music one of the keys to a longer, happier life – despite your health issues?
The news about Campbell got me thinking about studies and articles I have read about music therapy. Although music has been with us since the dawn of time, in the last few decades studies have found that music as a therapeutic tool can increase cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients, help premature infants gain weight, encourage autistic children to communicate, lead stroke patients to regain speech and mobility, control pain for dental, surgical and orthopedic patients, and manage anxiety and depression for psychiatric patients.
Dr. Oliver Sacks, a renowned neurologist and psychologist at Columbia University Medical Center best known for his 1973 book Awakenings, which became an Academy Award-nominated film starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, and who also wrote Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, testified at the Hearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging entitled, “Forever Young: Music and Aging,” and issued this statement:
“The power of music is very remarkable… One sees Parkinsonian patients unable to walk, but able to dance perfectly well or patients almost unable to talk, who are able to sing perfectly well… I think that music therapy and music therapists are crucial and indispensable in institutions for elderly people and among neurologically disabled patients.”
The Magic Brain Workout Is Music
Since music is associated with one of the five senses — hearing — which is controlled by the brain it makes sense that we should exercise our brains with music listening to spur cognitive function in the same way we use physical therapy to exercise our limbs, muscles and joints to regain mobility and physical function.
When it comes to Alzheimer’s patients, studies have shown that music reduces agitation or improves behavioral issues such as violent outbursts. In one pilot program, 45 patients with mid- to late-stage dementia had one hour of personalized music therapy, three times a week, for 10 months, and improved their scores on a cognitive-function test by 50 percent on average. One patient in the study recognized his wife for the first time in months. Another music therapy study showed that stroke victims can learn to walk and use their hands again.
Read More :
Caregivers Take Note – Music as Therapy » Alzheimer's Association | Blog
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