Here’s the good news: More and more families and caregivers are discovering the many benefits of enabling their loved ones to enjoy their favorite music as they age—especially if their elders experience cognitive decline.
We’re all drawn to music and spend our lives steeped in our favorites. In fact, on average, people listen to 2.6 hours of music a day and 1.3 million songs during their lifetime!… Read more
Recently some friends from out-of-town were visiting, and our conversation turned to loved ones coping with dementia. Everyone understood how listening to personal music can improve quality of life. So, I asked whether it had been helpful.
“Yes,” said Joanne, whose Mom passed away this past year from Alzheimer’s. Joanne was so pleased that playing her mother’s favorite music helped to keep them close.… Read more
Research confirms that people living in care settings are more likely to thrive when they regularly listen to and engage with their favorite music. The music we love can shift our moods, make us happier, even prompt us to sing or dance. So, when your loved one needs to transition to assisted living or a nursing home, access to beloved music will be key to their quality of life throughout the days, months, or years in their new home.
Ten years and 50 million views ago, 92-year-old Henry Dryer’s message jolted us out of complacency. He single-handedly shattered the common misconception that dementia means you are no longer yourself, no longer “there.”
Largely unresponsive for years, he “lit up” when listening to a Cab Calloway song that prompted him to share his life story. Henry’s recorded experience led to the award-winning documentary Alive Inside and made tangible the profound benefits of hearing favorite music.
Founder and CEO of Memory Lane TV, Alban Maino is a media producer devoted to integrative health. After several years of product development, he launched this streaming media service, which provides therapeutically designed content that supports the well-being of individuals living with memory loss. Originally from France, Maino is also a US citizen and has just been nominated as Honorary French Consul, representing French culture and promoting economic development in his home state of Maine.
Alexane Roy, a French musician, educator, and elder care professional, has learned from the ground up the challenges and joys of improving life for those struggling with cognitive decline. Newly translated from French, her successful book, Living…Loving in Alzheimer’s Land, is an approachable, thoughtful, robust guide for anyone caring for a person with dementia. An accompanying activity workbook, EnLIVEn In Alzheimer’s Land: Recreation and Communication Guide Through Neurocognitive Disorders, presents helpful exercises to put concepts into practice.
