Music – A Key to Health
With scientific findings that support improved health for seniors, music is being utilized for therapy. The body responds positively to music and the results are immediate to the quality of life for seniors and their caregivers. Click here to view article.

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Music – A Key to Health

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Music makes the world go round. Isn’t that the saying? Well, music also makes the human body go round. Seniors with Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure, heart conditions, chronic pain and many more ailments are seeing the benefits of music and music therapy. Scientists have proven repeatedly that the human body responds positively to music. While people of all ages can directly benefit from music as part of daily living, seniors and their caregivers are seeing immediate and impactful positive results.

A study done by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing looked at a research group made up of patients who had suffered for longer than six and a half years from osteoarthritis, disc problems and rheumatoid arthritis. The participants listened to music for an hour every day for a week and reported improved physical and psychological symptoms. Compared to the control group who did not listen to music, the music-listening group experienced a 21 percent decrease in chronic pain and 25 percent reduction in feelings of depression.

How the body responds to music

Generally, people know that music elicits feelings. Researchers have proven this through brain studies, such as those done at Stanford University and the Music Therapy Institute in Germany, which have shown that the brain is directly stimulated by music. When people listen to music, there is an increase in their level of serotonin, the hormone that helps the organs in the body carry out normal functions.

Music with a faster beat will promote sharper concentration and more-alert thinking, while music with a slower tempo encourages calm and even meditative states. Both ends of the music spectrum have their place in helping to improve life for a senior.

Another major advantage is that music enables the brain to change speeds more easily, which means that a person’s state of mind is greatly enhanced. A person’s depression and anxiety levels decrease, while optimism and creativity increase.

A person’s breathing rate, blood pressure, heart rate and degree of muscle tension are all positively impacted by exposure to music as well. Music and music therapy can help a patient reduce the risk of stroke and counteract the damaging and biological effects that stress has on the body.

Engaging the senior in physical activity related to music is also beneficial. Whether the senior is playing an instrument or moving to the beat, there is a connectivity that occurs between the brain and the physical body. Music further enhances and stimulates this mind-body connection.

What is music therapy?

The American Music Therapy Association describes music therapy as “the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved musical therapy program.”

With scientific proof that the body and mind benefit from music, it’s no surprise that music therapy as a form of treatment is growing in popularity. Therefore, the need for music therapists is also a growing. Many hospitals have certified music therapists on staff, and physicians are beginning to prescribe music therapy as a form of treatment for seniors.

Music therapists are trained professionals. They have acquired a music therapy degree from an American Music Therapy Association-approved college or university program. The program concentrates on three areas: musical foundations, clinical foundations and music therapy foundations. The individual must also complete 1,200 hours of clinical training. After completing this degree, candidates may sit for the national board certification exam to become a Music Therapist-Board Certified (MT-BC), which is required to practice professionally. Currently there are only about 5,000 music therapists, and 20 percent of those professionals work with the senior population, which is growing exponentially.

“We may be sitting on one of the most widely available and cost-effective therapeutic modalities that ever existed,” Gabe Turow, visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Department of Music, said. “Systematically, this could be like taking a pill. Listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication, in many circumstances.”

How caregivers can introduce music to help a senior

Although music therapists play an important role in this type of prescribed therapy, untrained professionals can also introduce the idea of using music to benefit health. Caregivers, and anyone who has a senior loved one, can help the senior find ways to bring music into his or her daily life. Begin by asking the senior what kind of music he or she likes, or turn on different kinds of music and see how the senior responds.

Here are some suggestions from Sarah Care, an adult day care company that uses music therapy and activities as part of their care program:

• Sing along: Share a song while making meals or driving in the car.
• Reminiscent music: Play old-time songs that help raise their spirits.
• Name that tune game: Ask your loved one to name the artist or song title of the song that is playing.
• Rhythm games: Use musical instruments like shakers, bells or tambourines.
• Get moving: Exercise, stretch or do creative movement to rhythmic music.

Another great source for creating interactions with music is the service provided by the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function called the Well-Tuned™: Music Players for Health Program. This organization will program an iPod based on an individual’s music preferences. So if a caregiver knows what music a senior likes to listen to, the caregiver can send an iPod to the institute for customization. The program also accepts donated iPods for clients who could benefit from music but cannot afford an iPod.

The impact that music and music therapy, whether prescribed or informal, has on the human body is backed by much evidence. This method of treatment is establishing itself as an affordable and accessible approach to improving many different health concerns and conditions. Music is free through a radio connection and inexpensive when compared to other forms of therapy and medications. Caregivers can easily access music therapy and implement musical activities that promote a senior’s well-being. Seniors will feel more invigorated, both physically and mentally.