Reaching beyond the mind to touch the emotions of an Alzheimer’s patient can sometimes be accomplished through music. Many doctors will recommend the addition of music, as well as art and pets, to the more traditional Alzheimer’s treatments. Many Alzheimer’s patients suffer a considerable amount of depression and stress due to the disease, and it has been well-documented that music can calm fears and reduce stress. Think how you feel happy and nostalgic any time a particular song from your past comes onto the radio. Because songs often bring back a specific memory to people, music can be the ideal way to help an Alzheimer’s or dementia patient reminisce without getting stressed out. Music has been shown to alter a person’s mood; a happy song may make you want to dance around your home while you vacuum, while a more soothing song can help you relax at the end of a particularly hard day.
Music and Alzheimer’s Disease
If you are wondering whether music therapy can really help the Alzheimer’s patient, studies were done in which a one-month music therapy program was introduced, five days a week for 30-40 minutes per day. At the end of the month significant improvements were seen in aggression and agitation levels as well as sleeping habits. After the month of music therapy, the five brain chemicals which affect the mental state (melatonin, norephinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin and prolactin) rose dramatically. Six weeks after the music therapy program had ended, melatonin levels remained high, allowing the patients to become more active and consistently sleep better.
As a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient when choosing music, remember to choose tunes that are familiar. In other words, for a person who is currently in their seventies or eighties, rap music is probably going to do exactly the opposite of calming. Generally, music from a person’s young adult years will most often prompt the clearest responses. Make sure to watch closely when introducing new music, to make sure it doesn’t provoke agitation due to an unknown or upsetting link to the person’s past. Other times unfamiliar music can be helpful because it doesn’t link to any possibly painful memories in the mind of the Alzheimer’s patient. Happy, relaxing songs will be best when it’s time to be calm before bed time; however more stimulating music can promote movement and will be especially helpful when trying to get Alzheimer’s patients to bathe or dress. Use tapes and CD’s or satellite radio to play music, as AM/FM radio can contain too many commercials that the Alzheimer’s patient may find confusing.
Music is good for everyone, and especially when we are aging. For those who are in the final stages of Alzheimer’s, music may be the only remaining means of extracting a response, and is considered to be a successful intervention.
