Joyful Noise: Music to Soothe the Soul
Music is one of the most ancient forms of human communication and entertainment. Our modern era now knows that music also has specific clinical benefits. Research has shown clear therapeutic benefits to mood, cognitive ability, and perception of pain, among other beneficial effects. And the best news yet, there are virtually no troublesome side effects of this therapy!
Music Therapy is the professional use of music interventions to elicit benefit to patients. Many hospitals, psychiatric programs, and rehabilitation facilities, and some senior communities, assisted living / memory care facilities and long-term care facilities have music therapists on staff. In some communities there are therapists providing home or virtual sessions. Therapy sessions, like what a physical therapist might do for a muscle or joint issue, are completed to achieve the desired outcome. Music therapy can involve listening to music, making music, writing songs, and/or discussing lyrics.
You can also achieve many of the same benefits for you and your loved one from a do-it-yourself program at home.
Try this:
To add some calm to the day:
Find 10-15 minutes
Choose your loved one’s favorite instrument that plays soft music. For example, piano or harp are good choices for this need. Or choose a “soft sound” such as ocean sounds from a sound machine (or app for your phone.)
Start the music
Have your loved one complete a 5 min series of relaxation breathing- slow, deep breath count to 3 and slow deep breath out count to 4
Have your loved one spend the next 10 minutes quietly listening to the music and let your mind be quiet
To add some fun to the day:
Find 10-15 minutes
Choose 3 or 4 “oldies but goodies” from among your loved one’s all-time favorites list.
If you or your loved one has a smartphone you can use a streaming service to search for a particular song. You can find most songs streaming for free on YouTube (Try using the Google search engine to look for the song “You Are My Sunshine”.) Or you can plan ahead and have a CD in your home player. Amazon has a large array of music compilations on CD for example “Top Hits of the 60’s.”
