A new study has determined that those experiencing dementia symptoms — anxiety, memory loss, agitation, and aggression — can benefit from music therapy. Organized by a commission collaboratively organized by the International Longevity Centre think tank and the Utley Foundation, the study relates that there is “emerging evidence to suggest that music may help to delay the onset of dementia and improve brain function and information recall.”
The report produced from the study asserts that music therapy for those suffering from dementia is both underutilized and underfunded — the study notes that only five-percent of care homes for dementia patients apply the therapy.
“The benefits for people with dementia are clear and yet why is it that so many people with dementia are not accessing appropriate music-based interventions? At the heart of this debate is the right for people with dementia to have not just a life, but a good life and to be comforted and enlivened by the power of music,” the report states.
Research on the effects of music therapy on the disease have been “historically” lacking, notes Kathryn Smith, the director of operations at the Alzheimer’s Society.
“There hasn’t been much research into how music can help people with dementia,” Smith remarked. “It is great, therefore, to see the potential of the creative arts being tapped into by researchers. This could really help up to understand any benefits of music for people.”
H/T: The Guardian
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