Music and Dementia: Why Familiar Songs Still Reach People
Music can't cure or slow dementia, but familiar songs often reach people when conversation no longer does. Research suggests music-based activities can improve mood and reduce depression, and may ease anxiety, and a personal playlist of songs.
Music can't cure or slow dementia, but familiar songs often reach people when conversation no longer does. Research suggests music-based activities can improve mood and reduce depression, and may ease anxiety, and a personal playlist of songs someone loved when they were young is the simplest way to try it.
Why do people with dementia remember songs?
Most caregivers have seen it: a parent who can't recall what they had for breakfast sings every word of a song from 1962. That isn't a fluke. Brain imaging studies suggest that some regions linked to long-known music are relatively spared until later in Alzheimer's disease.
There's an emotional side too. The songs we hear between our early teens and late twenties tend to be bound up with first dances, weddings and old friends. When the song plays, a bit of that comes back with it, even if the person can't say where it came from.
What does the research say music can help with?
The evidence is more modest than the viral videos suggest, but it's real. A 2018 Cochrane review of music-based therapy for people with dementia in care homes found it probably reduces depressive symptoms and improves overall behaviour problems, and may improve emotional wellbeing and anxiety. It found little or no effect on agitation or aggression, and there's no solid evidence that music improves memory or slows decline over time.
In practice, families report smaller things that still matter: a calmer bath time, a tense afternoon broken up by a sing-along, a moment of eye contact. Those are worth having, even if they won't show up on a cognitive test.
How do you build a personal playlist?
You don't need a music therapist to start.
- Work out the years. Find what was popular when the person was about 10 to 30. Search for "top songs of 1965," for example.
- Ask around. Siblings and old friends often remember the wedding song, the hymn from church, the record that was always playing in the car.
- Test and watch. Play a few songs and watch faces, hands and feet. Tapping, humming and smiling mean keep it. Frowning or restlessness mean skip it.
- Make two lists. Upbeat songs for mornings and activity, slower ones for the evening.
- Keep it short. Twenty or thirty minutes at a time is usually plenty. Constant background music can become just more noise.
Songs with strong emotional ties can bring tears. Sometimes that's a good release. If it's clearly distress, switch songs and stay with them.
What's the easiest way to play music at home?
Simplicity wins. A smart speaker that responds to "play Frank Sinatra" lets someone choose music without fiddling with buttons, and our guide to voice assistants for dementia covers setup. One-button music players and simple radios are good options for people who struggle with voice commands. A few of them are in our tech gifts guide.
Comfortable over-ear headphones help in a noisy home or care facility. Just make sure someone can still get the person's attention, and keep the volume moderate.
Can music help with sundowning and agitation?
It's worth a try. Some families play a calm playlist at the same time every afternoon as part of the wind-down routine, which fits with the other steps in our sundowning guide. Music during care tasks like dressing or showering can also distract from discomfort.
And it's one of the few activities that works for the caregiver too. Singing along together, even badly, is a way to be with someone that doesn't depend on them remembering your name. On a hard day, that can feel like a lot.
Frequently asked questions
- Why do people with dementia remember music?
- Some brain areas involved in musical memory appear to be affected later in Alzheimer's disease than areas used for everyday memories. Songs also carry strong emotional and life-story links, which may help them stick.
- Does music therapy slow dementia?
- There's no good evidence that it slows the disease. Reviews suggest music-based activities can reduce depression and may help with anxiety and quality of life. Effects on agitation look small.
- What music is best for someone with dementia?
- Music they loved, especially from roughly ages 10 to 30. Their own favourites beat generic 'relaxing' playlists. Watch their reaction and drop anything that seems to upset them.
- What is the difference between music therapy and listening to music?
- Music therapy is delivered by a trained, credentialed therapist with goals for each session. Listening to a personal playlist at home is simpler and anyone can do it, and both can be useful.
