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The Power of Music and Dementia

Updated: May 31, 2024

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For a person living with Dementia connecting with music can be a hugely positive experience. Providing a musical experience that is personalised to the individual can be even more meaningful.


I am always amazed by the positive effect music has on my clients when I visit, how moods can change from quiet and unsure to energised and dynamic, from agitated to calm.


One fact that has stuck with me, from my Playlist for Life training, and which I always refer to when talking about the Power of Music for those living with Dementia, is this ........that the use of music in a care home helped bring about a 60% reduction in the use of sedative drugs and that GPs started entering the use of playlists on residents' medical records.**


That the use of a personalised Playlist can achieve a drop in the % of sedatives and that GPs then prescribed the use of Playlists is incredible.


Wouldn't it be wonderful if personalised music could be a standard part of an individual's care plan, something that any person caring for or engaging with someone living with Dementia could call upon as a means of communication whether it be to aid reminiscence, support cognition and speech, to calm or energise or distract.


**

'Playlist for Life has worked with Lillyburn Care Home and the Birdston Day Care Centre for many years. Like all care homes, nursing staff at Lillyburn sometimes must administer sedative drugs to calm residents for agitation and distress – both common symptoms of dementia.


In 2018 music helped bring about a 60% drop in the use of sedative drugs at Lillyburn, proving the powerful effect personal playlists had on residents’ moods. 

After introducing playlists into dementia care, the GPs who work with the home were so impressed with results that they started entering playlists on the residents’ medical records. Now, staff at Lillyburn will reach for music before medicine'. 



 
 
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