- Highly educated individuals experienced stronger cognitive benefits from music activities.
- Listening to music enhances memory and cognitive function.
- Music could be a readily accessible tool for cognitive health in an aging population.
Listening to music has been shown to soothe those with dementia and other forms of cognitive decline. A new study suggests that when older adults listen to music regularly, they may actually reduce their risk of having such decline.
According to a new study from Monash University in Australia that involved nearly 11,000 adults, those over 70 who regularly listened to music experienced a 39% lower likelihood of developing dementia. The study is published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. The findings were strongest in those who were highly educated.
The subjects were part of the ASPREE Longitudinal Study of Older Persons, designed to tease out factors linked to risk of various diseases. The goal was to see if lifestyle changes could impact the trajectory.
The researchers reported that the study suggests music activities could be an easily obtained strategy for older adults to maintain cognitive health, though they noted they could not prove causation, just association.
Participants were basically healthy at the beginning of the study and were tracked annually with data obtained from them and from their health care provider.
The regular music listeners were less likely to develop dementia compared to those who didn’t listen to music regularly. They had less cognitive decline overall. Senior author Joanne Ryan, who leads the Biological Neuropsychiatry and Dementia research center at the university, said the music listeners also consistently did better on memory tasks and on a global cognitive function test, The Washington Post reported.
“If we do consider our findings in light of other research that has been done,” Ryan said, “we think there could be a real direct link.” Ryan pointed to the large body of research that has shown that music can boost our moods and stimulate a number of areas of our brains, which is beneficial for cognitive function," per the Post.
According to background material on the study, “People who reported always listening to music demonstrated the strongest cognitive advantages. This group showed a 39% lower incidence of dementia and a 17% lower incidence of cognitive impairment, along with higher overall cognitive scores and better episodic memory (used when recalling everyday events). Those who both listened to and played music on a regular basis had a 33% reduced risk of dementia and a 22% reduced risk of cognitive impairment.”
There’s also benefit to playing music, the study finding a 35% reduction in the risk of dementia. The researchers said that doesn’t mean it’s less effective than just listening; it could be that a smaller group of older people regularly make music themselves.
The researchers called music an accessible tool and noted that the population worldwide is aging, so it could be potentially a very important tool.
Music that soothes, prompts memory
ScienceDirect featured a small study from Neuroimage: Reports in 2023 that found music interventions help brain volume increase. That research from Switzerland reported that “six-month music training led to robust increases in gray matter in healthy older adults.” It also found that auditory working memory was stronger after the training.
Other studies have also suggested strong links between music and mind. In July 2022, Northwestern Medicine noted music as a powerful tool for stirring emotions and memories, “which is why musical intervention has therapeutic benefits for people with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.”
It added that “musical interventions have been shown to decrease a patient’s agitation and improve communication and caregiver relationships.”
Northwestern Medicine neurologist Dr. Borna Bonakdarpour is a physician musician who offered tips for trying music as a tool. He said music resides in the part of the brain that is among the very last to be affected by Alzheimer’s.
He suggests working with a trained musical therapist to get started. But if you want to do it yourself, he issues a warning. Not all music triggers happy memories. So you need to watch the response and tailor choices that bring positive reaction. He recommends you start with music from the person’s teen years or early 20s. That helps prompt long-term memory.