The CambridgeACT on Alzheimer’s Survey Team
In an effort to raise awareness, educate our community and assist families who have been touched by Alzheimer’s disease, this month’s article will discuss how music can calm, uplift moods and engage a person with Alzheimer’s disease.
In his book “Musicophilia: Tales of Music & the Brain,” neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote, “People with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can respond to music when nothing else reaches them—musical memory somehow survives the ravages of disease, even in people with advanced dementia, music can often reawaken personal memories and associations that are otherwise lost.”
Here are some tips and ideas in using music in caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
• Select music from the individual’s young adult years 18 to 25—listening to old favorites can enhance mood and make potentially troublesome daily living activities such as bathing or dressing go more smoothly for all involved.
• Be creative and personal. Find the specific songs that were special to the person you care for and awaken their interest and attention. Play songs that have some importance to them.
• Choose soft classical music, lullabies or non-rhythmic instrumental background music to reduce agitation and anxiety during periods of sundowning (Symptom of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Confusion and agitation worsen in the late afternoon and evening, or as the sun goes down. Symptoms are less pronounced earlier in the day).
• To create a sense of comfort and safety as well as engagement, look for classic American folk songs with easy to remember lyrics that most of us learned as children, think “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain” and “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”
• Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease vary in their response to music depending on which stage of the disease they’re experiencing, but it can also change from day to day. What music should you play for the person you care for? Bottom line—whatever works.
“Music is the strongest form of magic.” – Marilyn Manson.
For more information about local resources and guidance in caring for someone with dementia contact Jayne Mund, Caregiver Consultant at 763-689-8811.
Alzheimer’s Support Group meets the third Tuesday of the month from 10-11:30 a.m. at GracePointe Crossing Heritage Center, 322 River Hills Place N., Cambridge. Contact Molly Carlson for more information at mcarlson@preshomes.org or call 763-691-6172.
For more information about the CambridgeACT on Alzheimer’s call Julie Tooker at 763-691-6192.
Your input and assistance is valuable. Let’s ACT together to create and sustain a dementia friendly community. There is Hope. There is Help. Source: Best Music for Dementia Patients by Jeff Anderson, www.aplaceformom.com.