http://www.care2.com/greenliving/11-types-of-music-that-soothe-dementia.html
11 Types of Music that Soothe Dementia
by Paula Spencer, Caring.com senior editor
Why is it that I can remember the lyrics of every awful ’70s pop tune I catch the merest snatch of while turning a radio dial, but not the name of the street two miles away? The answer is good news; that is, if you spend time with someone who has Alzheimer’s, dementia, or Parkinson’s Disease.
Music lodges uniquely deep in the recesses of the brain–and therefore can still be tapped long after other abilities have failed. Musical memories are a complicated code of primal emotions, cognition, movement, and language. It both calms and provides sensory and social stimulation. But there’s an even better reason to bring singing, listening, playing, and dancing into the life of someone with a dementing illness: To provide them with the deep pleasure and reassurance brought by enjoying moments of wholeness and clarity.
For a person with a neurological impairment, music can “stimulate a sense of identity as nothing else can,” says neurologist Oliver Sacks, who writes about the evocative powers of music in last year’s bestseller, Musicophilia, and in the November issue of O magazine.
Long-term care facilities know this and use “music therapy.” But it struck me that home caregivers or family members might not realize this remarkably effective tool that’s right under their noses–or rather, ears.
Some ideas to try:
Heyday favorites. Unsure what the person has long liked (jazz, big band, classical)? Google “music era” with the decades during which the person was a teenager or in his or her 20s (1920s, 1940s, and so on).
Christmas carols. ‘Tis the season (so stores already tell us). Start with classics: Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Elvis, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
Nursery rhymes. When I was a brand-new mother, I didn’t know any proper lullabies. So after I sang all the carols and Beatles songs I could think of, I went through Mother Goose. You’d be surprised how sing-songy and satisfying rhymes like “Jack and Jill” and “Hey Diddle Diddle” can be.
Hymns. Ask to borrow a hymnal from a place of worship to help you sing or play familiar standards on the piano.
Funny songs. Add the benefits of laughter with corny tunes like Tiny Tim’s “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” or my dad’s old favorites, “Mares Eat Oats” and “Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda” (by Allan Sherman).
Musicals. Listen to a soundtrack, or rent the movie version. Turn it up when Julie Andrews croons “My Favorite Things.”
TV-show theme songs. Google those words and you’ll find many CDs. After all, tunes like Archie and Edith Bunker’s “Those Were the Days” duet were the soundtrack for many an evening.
TV shows about music. One of my Dad’s favorites is “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” (Fox). There’s also “American Idol.”
Wandering minstrels. Sounds farfetched but it’s fabulous if your area happens to have a wonderful program like “Music for Seniors,” which musician and caregiver Sarah Martin McConnell founded in Nashville to bring area performers to seniors in care locations, day centers, and at home. (She says it’s the only such program she knows of, but she’d love to see it nationwide. As for me, I love it!)
Musical instruments. If the person played one, he possibly still can. Alternatives: Plucking a child’s zither or working a tambourine or xylophone.
Don’t forget to sing, use hand motions like clapping, and dance. People with Parkinson’s disease especially benefit from dancing.
Caring.com was created to help you care for your aging parents, grandparents, and other loved ones. As the leading destination for eldercare resources on the Internet, our mission is to give you the information and services you need to make better decisions, save time, and feel more supported. Caring.com provides the practical information, personal support, expert advice, and easy-to-use tools you need during this challenging time.
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8 comments
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Kabin
Konteyner
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I was so pleased to read what Linda S. had to say. Music is one thing to ease the caring for an Alzheimer's patient, but the right life style to prevent it happening is even more important. So Larry Tooley take heart. Here is an 'Early onset' survivor speaking. One of the things I did when being diagnosed was to have all my amalgam removed amongst other things. I have written about my recovery from E.O.A. in a previous letter of Care2, so won't elaborate now, but just to give hope, that there is a cure.
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Larry Tooley,
It doesn't have to be your fate. My mother had early onset (obvious at 52, died at 67) Alzheimer's. Toxic metals appear to have played a major role in hers. I'm making every effort to avoid that fate. Several things you can do to reduce your risk.
*exercise your brain: crossword puzzles, sudoku, learn a language, read, etc.
*Epsom salt baths
*Avoid the flu shot (it contains mercury and aluminum)
*If you have mercury amalgam dental fillings, read Amalgam Illness by Andrew Hall Cutler and Beating Alzheimer's by Tom Warren
*Avoiding gluten may also help
*stop smoking (if you do) and avoid secondhand smoke
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My Mother had Alzheimer's and passed away just over 3 years ago. She was so very unhappy in a home in her latter years, until I revived old memories that she'd related to me when I was young. Her face then lit up as she was back there all those years ago, reliving every single second of all such encounters and it was an absolute joy for her and for all of us to see her reliving such happy times again!
Then I thought of how songs always stick in our brains and how any of us can, in an instant, be transported years back when songs of the past come on the TV or radio or when we play them. I bought her a CD player and she adored all Glen Miller's best tunes, Perry Como's too. I was so thankful for being able to help my dear Mum and would urge anyone to do exactly the same please - it's so very worth it to see that smile and hear the laughter in her/his voice, a joy to behold, I promise!
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Thank you so much for this refreshing hope for some of us doomed to this disease. It is in my family and may be my turn next.
It is very relieving to know we will still have our favorite music.
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All the tips here are wonderful! My Mother had Alzheimer's and spent 11 years in a nursing home. She was pleasant and everyone loved her due to her sweet ways.
She did love music but her ears were sensitive to sound so it was more soothing to have soft music.
The thing that surprised me the most was her ability to read, it was one of the last things to leave. The home was having trouble with her escaping and they put a sign up that said "Not an Exit, turn around". She would read the sign and do exactly what it said.
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and no song is too corny!
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It's true, many of my patients don't remember me, but they do remember the songs I sing off key. You want an uncritical audience for your cracked singing voice? Sing to Seniors, they love it!
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