Every human being knows music from an early age. It is an integral part of our lives and is counterpart almost everywhere. Be it in the café, in the shop or in the office, music is always playing in the background and so, whether we like it or not, it is firmly anchored in our subconscious. This is the anchorage that some scientists now want to take advantage of in the treatment of dementia.
Like no other medium, music is able to revive and recall feelings, perceptions or abilities. A song from the childhood days of the patients, can put them at a stroke in a bygone time and cause true happiness. Whether it’s the thoughts of the deceased parent or the patient’s home, everyone has their own memories and experiences.
Singing against forgetting
But not only listening to music is good for the dementia sufferer, but also one’s own practice. This activates a broad network of regions in the brain. Through this activation, music is able to improve various cognitive abilities such as attention and working memory. A positive side effect is that the mood of the affected persons often improves.
Dementia is very difficult to grasp as a clinical picture, because cause and course are varied and different. Only one thing is certain: Once the diagnosis of dementia has been made, there is no way back. This inevitability is a big burden for sufferers and caregivers. The special challenge in everyday care is therefore not in the healing, but rather in the physical and mental relief of the symptoms.
