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Music, medicine for the brain of the most vulnerable elderly

2020-11-16T20:01:04.259Z


Music therapy, experts say, benefits in multiple pathologies and also there are no known harmful effects so far


MORE INFORMATION

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I remember when, as a child, I would visit my grandparents Manuel and María, both from Granada.

Climbing the stairs to her landing was always a source of joy;

He knew that there would probably be a platter on the kitchen table full of donuts or juicy pestiños well soaked in honey.

But what I liked the most was approaching the door of the house and listening to the music that was playing in the house from the landing.

My grandfather was fond of flamenco.

In his living room you could always listen to Manolo Caracol, La Niña de los Peines or Pepe Pinto.

You could always hear my grandmother humming some chorus, with that Andalusian accent that she had not shed despite all her years living in the capital.

Hearing her sing was synonymous with happiness.

And it is that music, as Plato sentenced, "is for the soul what gymnastics is for the body."

Some benefits, those of music, which makes music therapy possible, understood this, according to the World Federation of Music Therapy (1996), as "that activity that uses music and / or its elements (sound, rhythm, harmony and melody) to promote and facilitate communication, relationships, learning, movement and expression, satisfying the physical, emotional, mental, social and cognitive needs of people ”,

Gema Pérez Rojo, tenured professor at CEU San Pablo University and researcher and expert in older people, points out that there are studies that indicate that the use of music therapy in a rigorous way at a methodological and scientific level “increases the benefits at a biopsychosocial level, since it increases social participation, social and communication and emotional skills (reduces agitation, stress and depression), reduces the presence of problematic behaviors and acts as a stimulus for memory and language in people with dementia ”.

In addition, continues this expert in older people, "it has been found that its use could be an alternative to the use of medication and physical restrictions in the presence of problematic behaviors."

Even, Pérez Rojo continues, "music can make them stay connected with the immediate environment and the people around them, family or not."

Experts assure that the therapeutic application of music can help, according to the results of the studies carried out, elderly people with dementia, terminally ill, Parkinson's or elderly people who have suffered a stroke.

In the case of being used for therapeutic purposes, as when other types of interventions are used, the professor at the CEU San Pablo University explains that “the key is to know the person well, to have information about their preferences and interests. musicals.

The individualized and personalized use of music has been shown to have positive effects.

In addition, some benefits have been found when applying it through music, but also in the case of the use of individual headphones so that each person listens to the music they like.

Although, on occasions, the background music can also become an element of "noise" for some older people, with some of these pathologies ".

During the confinement, the Health and Community Foundation (FSC) considered it necessary to introduce a music therapy technician at the Els Arcs residence and day center in Figueras: Víctor García.

María Blasa Vilches, coordinator of the Psychosocial Area and psychologist at the same center, points out that “the most interesting thing about this activity has been the interaction between the music therapist and each elderly person, since everyone was able to share a piece of 'personal intimacy' with the group and this was important to generate cohesion and mutual support, very important values ​​in this situation ”.

The average age of the people living in the center permanently is 85 years.

The coordinator of the psychosocial area of ​​the Center states that “the reactions to this activity have been positive and diverse.

Some people have quickly connected with songs that have meant something to them.

In others, however, it has been a slower process;

listening and remembering has helped to remember what moved them ”.

What is each older person excited about

María Blasa Vilches declares that “Víctor has carried out a search for preferences with each person and has observed the most dependent people to find out what each older person is excited about.

We have been surprised to observe very disconnected people following the melody with one hand or one foot or how they have hummed them, even though they did not know the lyrics ”.

In addition, in the daily activities, the coordinator of the Psychosocial Area and psychologist at the Els Arcs Residence and Day Center says that routines have been broken that “are marked by music and anticipate what will happen: relaxing music for children. noon, festive music to go to the garden ... Anticipation brings security about what is going to happen, especially to the most dependent people ”.

Ana Asensio, psychologist and doctor in Neuroscience, founder of Vidas en Positivo, comments that “in older people, who also already have an important soundtrack to their life, music therapy can become a magnificent resource to support their emotional states, evoke memories, stimulate areas of the brain and provide them with motor activation messages ”.

The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) defines music therapy as a profession, in the field of health, that uses music and musical activities to address the physical, psychological and social needs of people of all ages.

Ana Asensio admits that, with the application of these musical therapies, “the elderly find a way to express their emotions in an almost instantaneous way, either through verbal or non-verbal language.

By listening to a song that has been special to them at some point in their life, it is possible to transport the person to the past and evoke exactly the same sensations that they felt when hearing it back then.

This activation of memory is highly positive and relaxing for them ”.

The founder of Vidas en Positivo lists some of the benefits that music therapy brings to older people:

  • Stimulation of brain, memory, hypothalamic areas, associative areas in the parietal lobe, areas of auditory integration, limbic and emotional areas ...

  • Generation of pleasant neurochemicals for the body such as endorphins.

  • In the event that the elderly person is able, it encourages them to move, to dance, to do exercises adapted to each age or each moment, and encourages them to imagine movements that also activate those motor neurons in the brain.

  • On a social level, music socializes, because it relaxes us and encourages us if its use is intended for it.

  • If, in addition, the music has lyrics, the fact of learning it, singing, is already releasing positive neurochemicals such as oxytocin and serotonin, in addition to working areas of language and memory, and becoming a fun activity that can be done in a group.

  • Emotionally, it can change internal states and help us feel very good, relaxed, calm, happy ...

Music therapy, experts say, benefits in multiple pathologies and also no harmful effects are known so far.

Likewise, Ana Asensio states that, in cognitive impairments or more severe dementias such as Alzheimer's, "music is a wonderful resource to bring happiness and favor their memories or alleviate the greater deterioration of their functions."

In addition, in people with this disease, continues the doctor in Neuroscience, "this type of therapy improves their quality of life by delaying dependence, helping to maintain cognitive and functional abilities such as attention, memory or language.

In mild stages of the disease, music supports the connection with the world and provides pleasant neurochemicals in the more advanced stages of the disease ”.

Asensio also assures that it has been scientifically proven that "the use of music during aging, in most health-related therapies, helps reduce pain, because it allows the body to produce a greater amount of endorphins, prominent neurotransmitters that provide a great feeling of well-being ”.

“If you want to see the older person with whom you share time smile… Put on their favorite music!”, Says the founder of Vidas en Positivo.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2020-11-16

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