McKenney Home Care is proud to have become certified as a Music & Memory Home Care Agency. Harnessing the healing power of personalized music…
As we all know from hearing that son associated with a first love or the hits that were popular when you left home to make it on your own, music is profoundly linked to personal memories. In fact, our brains are hird-wired to connect music with long-term memory.
Even for persons with severe dementia, music can tap deep emotional recall. For individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s, more recent memory for things-names, places, facts- is compromised, but memories from the teenage years can be well-preserved.
Favorite music or songs associated with important personal events can trigger memory of lyrics and the experience connected to the music. Beloved music often calms chaotic brain activity and enables the listener to focus on the present moment and regain a connection to others.
The benefits of this form of music therapy have been well-studied and documented by distinguished researchers including Music & Memory board member Dr. Connie Tomaino and Dr. Oliver Sacks, author of Musicophilia:Tales of Music and the Brain, co-founders of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function.
Personalized music has many benefits for elders, in fact it is life changing, when used in long term care facilities, here are some of the results:
- Finally, professional staff have a way to give pleasure to persons with advanced dementia-often the most difficult to reach.
- Personalized music offers an enjoyable, fulfilling activity for persons in dialysis, on vent or bed-bound.
- Individuals are more cooperative, attentive and willing to accept care; their brighter moods boost staff morale and enable staff to be more person-centered.
- Individuals are calmer and less agitated, sundowning is often reduced or eliminated.
- Individuals are more engaged with those around them.
- Family and staff are able to connect in a more meaningful way with residents around music and memories.
- Personalized music provides a valuable tool for the effort to reduce reliance on anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medications.
To find out more about Music and Memory and what we can do for your loved one, please call McKenney Home Care today!