Old songs and past memories can lift up the spirits of Seniors

Bandana Kashyap
Careguru
Published in
3 min readJun 30, 2017

A hard day possesses the potential of eroding one’s spirit to bear the struggle and emerge as a winner. Constant failure can leave the person depressed without the courage of making another attempt. If the same is something any of your friends or near and dear one is undergoing, you can make attempts to revive their lost spirit through music therapy followed by bringing up topics related to past memories. Human psychological is a bit complex. People love talking about past memories to cope with the present situation. This article discusses on how old memories and old music and lift up one’s spirit.

Studies have stated that music therapy possesses the potential of boosting one’s social and emotional interactions. Psychological disorders can be readily addressed by music therapy. This is because music influences various parts of the brain and act as a mode of motivation. For instance, music can open up a stroke patient emotionally and thus help them to enjoy the new life. It washes off the negative conception present in mind and gives the ability to speak up, keep views and discuss with others the problem leading to depression.

Have you ever solved math or accountancy sums with the headphone plugged in? If yes, then you probably know how they boost up one’s cognitive power and motivate to perform better. This same action of music applies to anyone who has lost his/her spirit for not being able to score well in the examination, or at a job interview or is suffering from a serious health disorder.

​​​​​​Music is also influential on physical movement. The whole idea of dancing shows how strong this influence can be. This tie between emotion and physical influence is being used with great result while working with patients recovering from loss of motor skills. While working with a patient on a treadmill, music is played and stroke patients prove to be more motivated to move. Experiments have been done using regular treatment with no music and then using the same treatment with music. When the music was used, there was more improvement. Part of this improvement is believed to have happened because the music was synced “in time” to the patient’s footfalls. The patients stayed in time to the rhythmic sounds and showed vast improvements in all aspects of their recovery. Traditional therapy by itself did not show the same level of improvement.

While music as therapy has shown to be effective in some cases, there is still much research to be done on it. Each patient has specific physical and previous psychological conditions that affect the result this therapy can have on their recovery. The timetable in which music therapy is used towards the start of the ailment can play in the therapy’s effectiveness. For example, if a person was socially more awkward before treatment began, that patient would see more positive results with the addition of music. Patients who had music therapy started immediately after injury or stroke also saw the greater result. Therefore, further study is needed to pinpoint how effective musical therapy is.

Going forward music as therapy is a good tool. While illnesses and disabilities cannot be cured by it, for those willing to embrace its power, there can be a benefit. It is frequently being used in recovery centres, hospitals, and retirement establishments. Children have seen the benefit when music is used to improve social, motor, and relaxation skills. Music therapy is proving another important element in helping people cope with life.

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Health benefits of laughter for seniors

This post was originally published in CareGuru.

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