Benefits of Music Therapy for Seniors & Older Adults (for Memory)

January 13, 2025 | News | Reading Time 7:00 Minutes

Seniors and families: living with dementia and Alzheimer’s can be challenging. Finding the best way to live your life often involves the healing power of a variety of disciplines.

One of those is music therapy — music therapy for seniors, that is. Fortunately, music therapy has the power to evoke memories, provide a way to express one’s self, and evoke strong emotions.

This form of therapy can even help older adults to find some relief from depression, research shows. If you’re wondering what other benefits music therapy can provide for you or your senior loved one, then you’ve come to the right place.

From treating seniors with dementia to helping improve mental stimulation, in this article, we’ll discuss:

• The physical, emotional, and mental benefits of music therapy
• How music therapy supports those living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
• Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about music therapy for seniors

Fun facts about music therapy for seniors

1. Music therapists can help people with conditions as diverse as acquired brain injuries (ABIs). 2. Music can improve fine motor and reasoning skills. 3. Music therapy can help seniors and older adults to evoke and manage a range of emotions. 4. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be paired with music to reinforce and modify behaviors. 5. The profession of music therapy began after World War I and World War II when musicians provided music for soldiers who had experienced trauma.

Music versus music therapy

Music can heal. And talk therapy can evoke pleasant memories.

When harnessing the power of music therapy, a certified music therapist can help seniors — and people of all walks of life — in many different ways.

But, we need to make a delineation between music and music therapy.

For example, listening to music can stir up a range of emotions. With music therapy, though, two types of music therapy exist, including:

1. Active music therapy
2. Receptive music therapy

Active music therapy involves playing simple instruments, dancing, or singing. When engaging in active music therapy, a person uses their body in tandem with music.

Aside from the physical benefits of active music therapy, seniors can also enjoy receptive music therapy. Receptive music therapy is all about listening.

With receptive music therapy, seniors spend time engaged in mindful listening to a curated playlist of songs. A music therapist may play familiar music to a group of seniors while asking elderly people to focus on the music.

The choice of songs often reflects the older adult’s culture and personal experiences. Music therapy can help seniors remember snapshot moments of the past, pictures and memories of their lives, and experiences they’ve accumulated over the years.

Physical health benefits of music therapy for seniors

One of the amazing benefits of music therapy is its ability to be paired with more physical activities. When pairing music with movements such as walking, dancing, or stretching, music can improve the following areas:

• Heart and cardiovascular health
• Muscle strength
• Bone density
• Balance and coordination in different limbs
• General flexibility

What’s more, music can help direct a person’s attention away from pain. Plus, music can help lessen stress.

For instance, playing and listening to music can help people modulate their breathing. Music therapy can help improve respiratory health, release body tension, and lift mood, all of which can improve an older adult’s quality of life.

Finally, music can also help seniors lower their blood pressure, reduce their heart rate, and relax their muscles.

A qualified music therapist with formal music therapy training can ensure that music is used in tandem with and to maximize the physical benefits of active living.

Cognitive health benefits of music therapy

Speaking of improvements in quality of life, did we mention that music therapy interventions also support cognitive health? The same tools used in music therapy to improve body health can also be used for the mind.

Many research studies show that music therapy helps reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Since many older adults live with depression and dementia-related conditions, music therapy’s approach to bettering the quality of life for older adults makes this tool a valuable tool for helping treat depression in seniors.

What’s more, for seniors not living in a community with others, living in isolation can contribute to feelings of loneliness and depression.

As such, group music therapy sessions can help build community and allow seniors to communicate with others in ways they wouldn’t often do. For seniors who suffer from dementia who don’t often communicate with words, music can be used as a tool to help communicate emotions and thoughts.

Finally, listening to calming music — and playing music — can help older adults cope with trauma. By expressing oneself through instruments, through movement to music, and by listening to music, seniors can process and vocalize anxiety in safe, relaxed, and healthy ways.

Music therapy can help seniors with dementia and Alzheimer’s

Music affects the brain across multiple areas. Music therapy addresses two areas — Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area — which are responsible for producing and comprehending speech.

What’s more, people often associate songs, artists, or genres of music with milestones and events in their lives, the right music can elicit memories worth talking about with others. As such, music therapy may help activate communication with others through Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area.

Plus, the great news is that memories associated with music aren’t often affected by the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia. As such, music can be an area of life that can help manage and treat dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Caregivers providing dementia care can help individuals with Alzheimer’s maintain a grasp on reality by playing music that elicits memories of the patient’s past.

With the right music, environment, and activities, music therapy programs can help improve the quality of life of seniors living with memory-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Music and the brain: did you know…

Did you know that music therapy activates the brain’s reward system by releasing dopamine? Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that can help reduce cognitive and motor function decline.

Also, did you know that music therapy plays a role in regulating the immune system? Music therapy may help reduce the rate of neurodegeneration that occurs as a result of the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

To check out how our community embraces music therapy for brain health in our community, you’re invited to check our Facebook page.

Enjoy music therapy in an exceptional senior living community

The use of music for seniors and older adults living with dementia and Alzheimer’s can provide innumerable benefits.

Whether activating the brain’s reward centers with dopamine, helping seniors cope with stress, or providing a backdrop for active, physical activities, music therapy can improve the health of older adults and seniors the world over.

When incorporating relaxing music into daily activities, people with dementia can live more able, quality lives.

That’s what we’re all about at Village Green. Our life enrichment directors are trained in the eight dimensions of wellness, and we invite board-certified music therapists (MT-BC) to our senior living community to deliver exceptional music-based programs and independent living activities that are perfect for seniors.

To learn more about our health and wellness programs — including music therapy offerings —feel free to reach out to one of our friendly senior living concierge staff members.

Welcome to Village Green Senior Living in Levittown, NY