Music improves health, mood, and sleep
Music has many therapeutic benefits for seniors and sometimes helps more than medication. In documentaries like Alive Inside, we’ve seen how music can deeply affect older adults with cognitive issues.
This study showed that in stressful pre-surgery situations, patients who listened to music rather than taking anti-anxiety meds actually had less anxiety and lower cortisol (stress) levels.
Other studies say that music can also:
Reduce pain
Reduce blood pressure
Help post-stroke recovery
Improve memory and engage people with memory disorders like Alzheimer’s or dementia
Improve sleep
Improve mood and decrease depression
Have an anti-seizure effect
Boost immune function
These are all great reasons to make music a part of your senior’s daily routine. As a bonus, music might help you feel happier and less stressed too!
Play the right music
To get these benefits, you need to play music that your older adult enjoys. If they still have their music collection, dig through those albums to find their favorite bands. Start by playing music from their youth and find something that brings that spark to their eyes.
You might also like: — Alive Inside: Movie Shows How Music Helps Dementia — 6 Everyday Products That Help with Caregiving — Questions to Ask When Hiring a Caregiver
By DailyCaring Editorial Staff Image: kamere