Alzheimer’s Avoidance – Blog 5: Listening to Music?

Music – one of the biggest art forms in the world is, on average, listened to by people for around 5 hours per day. people who listen to music do so for a whole number of different reasons. Some people listen to music to help them relax, some to help them focus and some to just simply pass the time. People use and listen to music near;y every day but has anyone stopped to think about how listening to music can affect your chances of getting Alzheimer’s?

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

Today’s blog is going to be the fifth blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about how listening to music can help reduce your chance of getting Alzheimer’s/ Dementia. Listening to music can help trigger emotional memories and is a real help to people with Alzheimer’s but also to people who do not have the condition.

I could go into detail describing the ways that music helps people with Alzheimer’s but I have found a few videos that do a much better job. the two videos in this blog are both fairly short but add so much more value in comparison to the words that I could use.

This first video always makes me smile. The sheer difference that music makes to Carol’s confidence and memory is astounding and the emotion that you can feel from her and her husband is a great feeling. Watching how a person can go from barely speaking to singing along to a song due to the power of music is a pleasure to watch and goes to show the effect that music can have on a person with Alzheimer’s.

The reaction and recognition that the music brings is really interesting to look at and to think about. Although the video is aimed at people who do have Alzheimer’s it does also apply to people who do not have the condition. triggering old memories can be a really good thing to do and is something that I highly encourage if you are dealing with someone who is or isn’t at risk of getting Alzheimer’s!

The second video that we are going to watch goes into a bit more depth and covers more of the educational side of music and Alzheimer’s.

I found that this video was a very interesting watch and there was one part that I found was worded excellently. This part is when one of the children is speaking near the end. he says that memories make us who we are and without them, we start to lose meaning. he says that it is really nice to have the chance to bring that meaning back to the lives of the old people who they are helping.

I could go into more detail on the topic but I feel like the videos really do it justice. they show not only the logic behind music and Alzheimer’s but also show the emotional reaction that the music generates. It really is an interesting theory to look into and there are a lot more videos and posts available if it interests you.

The happiness and smiles that you can see in the elderly people when they start listening to music is a pleasure to see and helps us see that there is still something there. There is still a part of the person left and that is something worth holding on to! Watching videos on music and Alzheimer’s helps me see that even though Alzheimer’s is a terrible condition that destroys lives, we can still be happy and enjoy music through it.

That is all I want to talk about in today’s blog! What do you all think? Did you know that there is a connection between Music and Alzheimers? Do you know any other techniques used to reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer’s? What sings would you have ion your playlist?

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed the blog. See you in the next one!

James