Did you know that singing is incredibly beneficial to the lives of people suffering from brain related diseases such as Alzheimer's, dementia or brain-damage? One major factor all these conditions have in common are the so-called neural pathways, which control the messages sent from the brain to the rest of the body. Surprisingly, singing has been shown to significantly improve the symptoms of the aforementioned impairments, such as the reduced ability to speak and damaged memory function, by either aiding the development of new neural connections or for existing ones to find and follow alternative paths.
One example of putting singing to good use is being conducted by the UK Alzheimer’s Society, which holds regular group-singing sessions nationwide.
"There is much anecdotal evidence that the groups have real benefits for people with dementia," a spokesperson said. "Even when many memories are hard to retrieve, music can sometimes still be recalled, if only for a short while. The sessions help people with dementia communicate, improving their mood and leaving them feeling good about themselves."
Read the full article in The Guardian by clicking here.
The act of singing one’s favourite and familiar tunes has been shown to increase the brain-function of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, according to researchers who worked and conducted a study on elderly residents at an US aged-care facility. During the 4-month study, the results showed that the mental performance of patients who actively took part in regular singing group meetings had improved considerably in comparison to patients who simply just listened during the sessions.
The most prominent effects were observed in active participants who suffered from moderate to severe dementia, with these patients scoring considerably higher on cognitive and drawing tests. Additionally, these participants also returned a higher sore on a life-satisfaction survey, which was conducted at the end of the study.
In conclusion, both singing and music provide a positive effect for people suffering from the effects of brain-damage, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The participants in the above study were found to initially display signs of happiness when being exposed to songs which were familiar to them, eventually ending up singing along to them and thus paving the way towards a brighter future.
AM4U Singing Studio’s “The Benefits of Singing” is a collection of a total of articles which each outline a core reason for taking up singing as a hobby or musical activity. Click here to see all articles in this series.
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