Let dementia patients listen to their favourite songs, urge experts
Familiar tunes can kick-start the memories of sufferers and bring them 'back to life'
Dementia sufferers can have their memory kick-started by listening to their favourite songs from the past, experts claim.
Playing familiar music can bring patients, who have been robbed of their memories by the devastating disease, 'back to life'.
The British researchers want people to learn how to play instruments as they believe doing so could prevent the onslaught of dementia. They presented their evidence in the House of Lords, in front of clinicians, charity leaders, academics, policymakers and MPs.
Baroness Sally Greengross, chief executive of the International Longevity Centre, which has set up a Commission on Dementia and Music, is behind the move. She said that regions of the brain associated with music memory may overlap with regions that are left relatively unscathed by dementia. 'People with dementia have been denied the power of meaningful music,' she said. 'They often live in a silent world yet music can bring a person back to life.'
Greengross added ' not enough' was being done to give dementia patients access to music - despite the growing body of evidence it can help.
The commission presented their findings, which included written evidence from more than 50 experts. It revealed that dementia patients can still understand and enjoy music, even if their brain has been badly damaged by the disease.
Listening to their favourite songs can also minimise symptoms, such as changes in mood or behav- iour, language problems and memory loss, they claimed. However, just five per cent of care homes offer musicbased interventions, such as live music or listening to the radio.
Charities welcomed the task force's evidence - which shows patients regain the clearest memories from listening to songs between when they were 10 to 30.
Dr Karen Harrison-Dening, of Dementia UK, said: 'Music is increasingly being used to help people with dementia relive past experiences and tap into powerful emotions.'
Dr Laura Phipps, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, added: 'Listening to or playing music can be a stimulating and social experience.'