Alzeimer’s disease (AD) is becoming tragically common; approximately 100,000 victims die and 360,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease are diagnosed each year worldwide.
Alzeimers is a progressive irreversible brain disorder with no known cause or cure. It attacks and slowly steals their minds. Symptoms of the disease include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, personality changes, disorientation. And loss of language skills.
Although, currently, there is no definitive cure for AD, several treatment interventions have been tried to manage, decrease, and prevent aggressiveness and agitation in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
While medication is the most prevalent of interventions, with its accompanying side-effects, alternative approaches such as music therapy have also been tried and tested.
Music therapy has become an increasingly popular intervention strategy, particularly for patients in nursing homes who display disruptive behaviours (Clark, Lipe and Bilbrey 1998).
Effects of Music Therapy
The benefits of music therapy are increasingly acknowledged in recent literature. Most of the studies on the effects of music therapy emphasize its therapeutic role in decreasing agitated behaviours. Music also promotes feelings of acceptance and belonging: playing favourite songs is often used to calm down anxious AD patients.
In a study conducted by Clark, Lipe, & Bilbrey (1998) employing music preferred by the patients, the researchers observed that there was a decreasing occurrence of aggressive behaviour among Alzheimer patients. Particularly the disruptive behaviour during bathing, commonly reported by the nursing staff to be the most problematic, was found to be decreasing, when recorded selections of preferred music were played. Care-givers noticed that during the music condition, patients showed improvements in mood, evidenced by an increase in smiling, dancing, and clapping to the music. Also, some were reported as being calmer and cooperative during the bathing routine.
Brotons & Pickett-Cooper(1996) investigated the impact of live music therapy in agitation behaviour of Alzheimer’s disease patients before, during, and after the music intervention. Twenty subjects, aged 70-96, from four nursing homes, were used for the analysis. The music therapy session included different musical activities designed according to the subjects’ functioning ability (e.g., singing, dancing, playing musical games or instruments). Results indicated that subjects were significantly less agitated during and after music therapy than before music therapy.
Movements and behaviours that were seen as unintentional and uncontrollable before music therapy now seemed more purposeful, more rhythmical, as though they were moving with the music. Subjects appeared to gain some control over these actions. In addition, informal reports from staff proposed that this decrease in agitation continued for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
A study by Rugneskof et al. (1996) showed that AD patients ate more when music was played; music also resulted in the subjects eating by themselves more often. There was a significant fall in irritability, anxiety, and depression.
Lindenmuth et al. (1992) found that music increased the number of hours of productive sleep-in people with AD , although Forbes rated this investigation as weak, the results remain assuring.
The recent studies indicated that music in nursing homes has been found to be very important. Music therapy resulted in increased social interaction of residents with Alzheimer’s disease. Subjects continued to respond to music therapy even as the disease progressed.
In one group, singing promoted more functional, social and physical behaviours than previously noted music provides a means of creative self-expression, non-verbal communication, memory, and most importantly, allows the group to have fun.
Alzheimer’s disease patients can continue to take part in organised music activities, such as simple drumming, even though they exhibit deteriorating levels of functioning. Also, Alzheimer’s sufferers may be able to retain musical perception, and learn new information when presented in a musical context. Hence, music may offer an alternative way of communicating for people with AD, when their ability to express and interpret language has significantly declined.
Studies also suggest that music therapy may be a creative and effective behavioural intervention in the management of disruptive behaviours displayed by people with Alzheimer’s disease. Although AD causes progressive brain deterioration, musical activity can be modified for even the most severely demented patients. Because of the extreme variability among AD patients, their reactions to intervention strategies may be different. As a result, it is important to individualise these approaches according to the patients’ personal needs.
Further research is needed in order to understand how music therapy can work to enhance the lives of people with dementia. However, behavioural interventions, such as music therapy, have great potential for improving the quality of life and well-being of both family caregivers and patients.
Music can help an elderly individual grow with greater self-esteem and less loneliness.
An abridged version of the article was published in Dignity Dialogue April 2006 – Page 10
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, May 12, 2021