Have you found that music therapy unlocks certain memories and improves overall fitness?
Great question Lori. I got some good information out of this and I plan to research it some more. Guy Andrews with ExerciseEtc. has a lot of experience with aging population and exercise:
http://exerciseetc.com/faculty.html
He might be able to provide you with more research regarding your question.
I hope this helps.
Best,
Harris
Caregivers have observed for decades that Alzheimer’s patients, for instance can still remember and sing songs long after they have stopped recognizing names and faces. Many hospitals and nursing homes and assisted living communities use music as recreation, since it brings pleasure to the participants. But beyond the entertainment value, there’s growing evidence that listening to music can also help stimulate seemingly lost memories and even help restore some cognitive function. Tests have been done through the New York State Department of Health, where 45 patients with varying degrees of dementia showed improvement in their cognitive-function scores by 50% on average. If there were more certified music therapists, and I understand there are only 7,000 in the U.S. and a small percentage work with the senior population, there might be more research and studies in the future.
Yes music can release long term memory stories, as I too have experienced with clients challenged by Parkinson’s Disease.
See http://www.phoenix.edu/forward/student-life/2011/08/should-you-listen-to…
(The scientists drew a link between memory recall to musical tempo. A tempo of 60 beats per minute activates the right hemisphere of the brain, while the material being studied activates the left hemisphere of the brain. With both hemispheres activated, the brain can process information more efficiently.)