Did you know that singing can help fight senile dementia? According to neuroscience, singing activates crucial parts of our brain related to memory. If we think about it, in fact, remembering the lyrics and the melody of the songs requires a good memory.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous
Did you know that singing can help fight senile dementia? According to neuroscience, singing activates crucial parts of our brain related to the memory. If we think about it, in fact, remembering the lyrics and the melody of the songs requires a good memory.
When we manage to learn a song, we hardly forget it. Once the memory of a song has formed, it tends to remain very strong in our memory. The advantage of the songs is that the rhythm and melody help to memorize the text. When we listen to a song and we want to memorize it, our brain is active on several fronts.
In the elderly suffering from senile dementia, music can become a very important communication channel when other skills are failing. A person - even if it is sad to think so - may no longer be able to recognize their relatives but at the same time may be able to remember and sing a song.
Experts are focusing on the role of music and singing as strategies to improve memory and to counteract senile dementia. A study in this regard was conducted by a research group led by Carol Kruumhansl at the Cornell University.
Researchers have found that most people are able to recognize very famous songs like Hey Jude from the Beatles or Michael Jackson's Thriller after listening to just one second of the song.
Other studies have investigated musical memory and have begun to understand that this type of memory is most likely retained in those with senile dementia.
A further study by Jorn-Henrick Jacobsen found that the memories of old songs they activate very specific areas of the brain: the anterior caudal girdle and the pre-ventral supplementary motor area. It seems that these areas of the brain are able to resist the harmful effects of Alzheimer's disease.
Read also: MUSIC THERAPY IN HOSPITAL: WHEN MUSIC HELPS HEAL
Over time, the idea that people with senile dementia can benefit from singing and other musical activities has made its way more and more so that some associations that care for Alzheimer's patients have begun to offer moments dedicated to music and singing.
Read also: SENILE DEMENTIA: GREATER RISK IF YOU HAVE HIGH PRESSURE AND DIABETES
The moment of singing and listening to music is becoming fundamental to rediscover the bond between patients and their children or their grandchildren, since singing becomes a real communication channel and makes a moment to spend in company pleasant.
It seems that the brains of patients with senile dementia do not want to give up music and singing. Experts have also wondered why singing is such an important activity for these people.
Read also: ELDERLY SICK WITH ALZHEIMER TALKING BACK TO HIS DOG (VIDEO)
One of the possible answers is very simple. Music is one of the most powerful anchors in communication. It arouses emotions and above all evokes memories of the past. It is precisely the memories that manage to strengthen our sense of identity and it may be that music and singing help those suffering from dementia to find themselves.
For example, an elderly person with Alzheimer's might remember something from when he was a boy by listening to an old song. Not to mention that music is a basic ingredient for emotional communication and that singing can help patients and their families reconnect.
Music - for everyone, not just for those suffering from senile dementia - can become a really important opportunity to relax, to recharge or simply to sing, to dance and to spend time with friends and have fun.
There is also a lot of talk about music therapy and the use of music in hospitals to help patients spend their hospitalization period better. Listening to the right music promotes relaxation and reduces stress, helps reduce the perception of pain and the symptoms of depression.
Further studies will be needed to confirm this but according to the researchers on the practical side it is already evident that music and singing can help improve the mood, memory and the overall quality of life of people with senile dementia. In particular, music becomes a fundamental communication channel when all other possibilities are closed.
In this regard, a truly moving video is going viral. On Youtube we can watch and listen to a son singing in the car together with his 79-year-old father, suffering from Alzheimer's. This video helped raise over € 30 to donate to the Alzheimer's Society.
Marta Albè
