Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Write A Prescription For An IPod For Memory Health!

I not long ago checked out a story on the Wall Street Journal website related to the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The content said that one of the criticisms of iPods is that folks who use them have a tendency to stay away from conversations with other people and remain in an insulated universe of their own. However, recent monitoring of stroke and dementia sufferers are showing that iPods and other MP3 players in many cases have the contrary result.

By listening to some old familiar tunes, advanced Alzheimer's patients can reconnect with their memories and with others in some astonishing ways, especially for those with degenerative brain disorders. For instance, as stated by the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod every day prompted a 28-year-old stroke patient to learn to walk and make use of his hands again.

In another occurrence, a 52 year-old man who fell out of a fourth-floor building site and suffered a crushed larynx became so beguiled with music that he wrote 400 songs and made four albums. An 85-year-old dementia patient in Florida listens to her beloved opera and Yiddish songs every day on an iPod with a home health aide or her daughter when she drops by. According to her daughter they listen for somewhere around a half-hour a day and "It seems to touch something deep within her."

Caregivers have been aware for many years that music therapy in dementia patients can be extremely efficacious. They have observed for decades that Alzheimer's sufferers can recall and sing songs for some time after they have stopped recalling names and faces. Hospitals and nursing homes have been using music as diversion for a long time, since it causes patients pleasure. Moreover, beyond the pleasure value, there is meaningful evidence that listening to music can also help stimulate apparently lost memories, and even help reconstruct cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)

As a old-timer myself I am a big fan of iPods and equivalent devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is basically an iPod with a telephone built into it. I am aware that many of you will be suspicious because you think such devices are too difficult for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite effectual in reducing memory loss due to aging. Now we realize that the musical capabilities can be helpful even for those who have already begun to experience memory loss.

Well, okay, you might decide not to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing dementia, but such a device can certainly be used, under supervision, to provide the kinds of music therapy in dementia patients set out in this article. Technology can be amazingly beneficial for those who are willing to be creative thinkers and attentive in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a consummate illustration.

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