What is it about?
Music therapy has been shown to benefit elderly adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. This paper describes how singing, playing instruments with familiar and preferred music can reduce symptoms of agitation and depression in persons with moderate to severe dementia. Our results show that the more music therapy is offered to people with depression the fewer the symptoms.
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Why is it important?
Our findings show that after only a short period of 2 weeks, music therapy can help common behaviors seen in nursing home residents with dementia. Thus, the implementation of music therapy services should be considered in long-term care facilities.
Perspectives
Music stimulates memories and soothes anxieties that many people with dementia experience. Incorporating music therapy services into the treatment plans for people with dementia may contribute to better living. Adding music may help caregivers in nursing homes and in the community bring joy to the lives of both the person with dementia and their carer.
Kendra Ray
Drexel University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Music therapy: A nonpharmacological approach to the care of agitation and depressive symptoms for nursing home residents with dementia, Dementia, October 2015, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1471301215613779.
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