According to a new study, music would help recreate the bond between people with dementia and their loved ones or caregivers.
- According to the World Health Organization, dementia affects approximately 50 million people worldwide. Almost 60% of patients live in a reliable or middle-income country.
- The total number of people with dementia is expected to reach 82 million in 2030 and 152 million by 2050, according to WHO
While people affected by dementia often lose their ability to communicate verbally with their caregivers, a study published in the journal Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders reveals that music helps them reverse the trend, or at least limit its effects.
songs and dances
To arrive at this observation, the team from the University of Northwestern Medicine, in Chicago (United States), in collaboration with the Institute of Therapy through the Arts, organized an event around music, entitled “Musical Bridges to Memory”. A “live band”, made up of a singer and musicians, played the patients’ favorite songs for 45 minutes.
As a result, the music concocted by the artists made it possible to reweave, through chorus singing and dancing, the emotional bond between patients and caregivers or carers. And for good reason, they had the effect of reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms such as agitation, anxiety and depression in patients. The latter were much more sociable, to the point of seeing them playing tambourines and shakers with the staff, who were also more serene.
Connect to each other
“Patients were able to connect with partners through music, a connection that was not available to them verbally”summarizes the main author of the study, Dr Borna Bonakdarpour. “It’s painful for [la famille et les amis des personnes atteintes de démence] when they can’t connect with a loved one. When language is no longer possible, music connects them to each other.”
This is not the first time that music has revealed its health benefits. According to recent studies, it promotes Memory, reduced stress and anxiety or even boosts motivation during a workout.
