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How powerful is music? Music connects the mind and emotions and can bring people together. If I just type the words, "We all live in a yellow submarine" I am 1000 percent that everyone sang that (at least the ones of us old enough to know the song). I could have really been cruel and said, It's a small world after all". (OOPS)
One Harvard University psychologist, Steven Pinker, famously put it in his 1997 book, How the Mind works (W.W. Norton), music is "auditory cheesecake," a confection crafted to tickle the areas of the mind that evolved for more important functions. Emerging evidence also shows that even newborn infants and people who cannot discern pitch enjoy music's emotional effect. "Certainly music seems to be the most direct form of emotional communication."
The connection between music and people with memory loss is just as powerful as it is for newborns and all humans. Musical memory remains largely preserved, so music may help improve memory, social connections, and mood. Music decreases agitation and improves communication and caregiver relationships. Our musical tastes begin to crystallize in adolescence, when we are between the ages of 13 and 14. There is no doubt, I can sing every word to Pearl Jam's "Ten: album and "Nevermind" by Nirvana, and Vince Gill, Clint Black and Dwight Yokum's albums from the 90's... Wow, what a combination. I loved the grunge movement in the 1990s. So be prepared nurses and aides, when I enter the assisted living, my generation will be jamming out to the Nirvana.
Currently, the Silent Generation (born 1928-1945) is the most prevalent in care homes at this time. With that information, the years of music between 1940 and 1960 will be the most remembered. Did your loved one like jazz, country, church hymns, or big band, etc? We are also seeing the Baby boomer generation (born 1946-1964) being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Music of the 1960s and 1970s would be most prevalent to them. I have taken care of approximately eight residents who went to Woodstock! I think that is the coolest. One married couple in Ohio told me a story of going to a small cafe in San Fransico on their first date, and the woman performing was great but SO LOUD. They were in the front and couldn't hear right for weeks. Turned out it was Janice Joplin. The story gave me goosebumps. I bet they had a lot of fun in their early 20s!
Knowing your loved one's favorite tunes can help a caregiver with communication and provide a better day for everyone. Make sure the TV is not also on, or a lot of noise in the background (visitors, etc). The music needs to be the only focus. It is even better received if you have headphones to put on and there are wireless headphones which would be the ultimate best. This creates a direct channel of music to the brain. Make sure it is loud enough to hear but not too loud to cause agitation. And for all you Elvis fans out there, Viva Las Vegas Baby!