One of the most remarkable successes of music therapy is the impact it has on the lives of Alzheimer’s patients. Advanced Alzheimer’s patients lose their ability to have interactive conversations with others and eventually stop speaking completely. A recent study shows that dementia and Alzheimer’s patients can recall memories and emotions, and have enhanced mental performance after singing classic hits. Music absorbs our attention, it acts as a distraction at the same time it helps to explore emotions. This means it can be a great aid to meditation, helping to prevent the mind wandering.
When people are very stressed, there is a tendency to avoid actively listening to music. You may feel like it is a waste of time, but did you know that productivity increases when stress is reduced, so this is another area where you can gain huge rewards. It takes no small effort to begin with. So start PLAYING the moments. PAUSE the memories. STOP the pain. And REWIND the happiness.
Photo of Brazilian Anthony Kulkamp Dias played guitar and sang to stay awake during the procedure of removing a tumor from his brain. He needed to stay awake so that doctors could map his brain and avoid serious neurological damage.