Everyone’s got different tastes in tunes, genres, and artists… but everyone can agree that music is great.
Believe it or not, music can even impact someone’s quality of life — especially for seniors.
Below, we’ll go over some specific ways that listening to music can help seniors live enjoyable, fulfilling lives.
1. Cognitive Benefits
Many seniors experience cognitive decline through age, but music can help bring back some of those memories. If your loved one has a form of dementia, playing old tunes from their childhood can jog pleasant memories and create a fun bonding experience.
However, seniors that haven’t experienced cognitive decline can still reap plenty of brain benefits through music — mainly through learning an instrument.
Learning an instrument takes lots of studying and coordination. Many studies have shown that it can make your brain sharper and keep cognitive decline at bay. Additionally, frequent playing may strengthen muscles in the hands and arms, another great benefit.
2. Provides Hobby and Social Opportunities
As we just mentioned, music doesn’t have to stop at listening. Many seniors pick up a new instrument and end up loving it. It gives them something to practice and work at every day.
Furthermore, both listening to music and learning instruments creates social opportunities. Seniors can make friends with similar tastes in music and go to concerts, and, if learning an instrument, get together with other musicians and jam.
3. Relieves Stress (and Other Physical Benefits)
One of the best ways to relieve stress is to belt out the words to your favorite songs. Now, you don’t have to sing along loudly, but simply listening to music you enjoy can cut down on stress and anxiety, and even have physical effects like improving sleep and lowering blood pressure.
4. Makes Exercise More Enjoyable
Few things make you feel on top of the world while you conquer your workout than music. Whether you’re in an exercise class, taking dance lessons, or working out solo with your headphones in, playing your favorite tunes makes exercising much more fun for seniors. It motivates you along and helps you focus on each exercise. Even just going for a walk or jog feels even better when you’re listening to the songs you love.
At VMT Home Health, we are committed to providing you or your loved one the best care in the Washington DC area. We offer both home care and home health services — contact us today to learn more about either or both!
