The power of music: 4 ways it can benefit your health

McMaster University recently sent out a post that highlighted the power of music. Many of us like music and some of us are very good at playing, writing, and singing. I am not good at this, but my son is a very talented musician. As a result, I pay attention to the role of music in our lives.

Over the years, music-based strategies have been investigated for everything from hospital stays, to walking, to sleep, yielding positive results in each of these areas. Given the deep connection that most of us have with music, it should come as no surprise that researchers around the world continue to investigate music's therapeutic benefits. Music is a safe, simple, and inexpensive strategy to support health and wellbeing. Whether for yourself or a loved one, consider incorporating more music into your everyday life and enjoy the benefits it may provide.

Music may improve cognitive functioning

Research has shown that active music-making therapy may improve cognitive functioning by a small but important amount in older adults with cognitive impairment or mild to moderate dementia. Seek out music-based programming delivered by a professional and that emphasizes activities that actively engage participants in music-making.  

Music can improve walking speed

Walking speed and “gait” (the pattern and manner of walking) are important indicators to gauge your overall health. Whether you realize it or not, you may be training yourself for a longer, healthier, and more active lifestyle by listening to music while you walk.

Music can help ease your hospital stay

Despite remarkable medical advancements surgery can be scary and time spent in hospital will likely be challenging. Music therapy is a safe, non-invasive, and inexpensive complement to treatment and can help to lower anxiety and pain for patients and may also ease depression and fatigue.

Music can improve overall behavioural issues in people with dementia

Studies have shown that listening to music allows older adults with dementia to be calmer, which indirectly helps to reduce caregivers’ levels of stress. Also, group music therapy sessions led by a trained music therapist helped reduce caregivers’ anxiety by allowing them to express and share their feelings.

Thoughts to Ponder

On this lazy Sunday morning in April, the flowers are starting to get ready to bloom. The gardeners have decided that the soil is warm enough for planting. Look around and hope is still in the air, even with all of the destruction around us. 

If you just look at all that already exists in your life, all that you already have: unlimited air to breathe, ample lighting to see, music to hear, books to read, stars to dream by, trees to gaze upon, floors to dance over, friends to cavort with, strangers to meet, enemies to befriend, woods to walk through, beaches to comb, rocks to scale, rains to splash in, rivers to float in, animals to bring comfort… you have to admit, there's more of it than you could ever, ever, ever, ever spend. But try anyway.

A research review of seniors, isolation, and best practices in service provision

There is no doubt that while the need for and benefits of social connections and inclusion is clear for seniors, there are considerations in providing services to this group. A literature review that was part of a study on seniors and the impacts of leisure activity12 highlighted the following challenges:

·        Connecting to services

·        Perception of barriers to participation e.g., clothing, funding

·        Factors that contribute to social isolation such as loss, poor physical health, low morale,

·        being a caregiver, geographic isolation, and transportation difficulties are often beyond the

·        socially isolated person's control and therefore not obviously susceptible to improvement. Thus

·        designing effective interventions to address the problem may be difficult.

There have been numerous interventions implemented worldwide, but few systematic reviews have been done to assess the effectiveness of these interventions in addressing social isolation in seniors. In fact, research evidence to support the belief that intervention can counteract social isolation and its adverse effects on older people is almost non-existent. While research confirming the effectiveness of interventions is not easily available – what is clear are the positive benefits of social inclusion. Evidence consistently supports the idea that out of home activity levels affect health status, well-being and survival in old age. “Disengagement from out of home activities is associated with declines in cognitive functioning among elderly persons"

The core principles of the Canadian National Framework on Aging, developed through an extensive consultation with seniors and other stakeholders, provide a solid foundation on which to build programs:

·        Dignity: being treated with respect, regardless of the situation and having a sense of self esteem

·        Independence: being in control of one's life, being able to do as much as possible and making one's own choice

·        Participation: getting involved, staying active and taking part n the community, being consulted and having one's views considered by Government

·        Fairness: having seniors real needs in all their diversity, considered equally those of other Canadians

·        Security: having adequate income as one ages and having access to a sage and supportive living environment

A study done in 1998 identified the following characteristics of effective interventions:

·        Participation in group activities

·        Targeting common groups e.g., women, the widowed, retired firefighters,

·        Using more than one method of intervention and those that are effective across a broad range of

·        outcomes

·        Allowing participants some level of control

·        Ensuring the evaluation fits the intervention and includes a process evaluation

The effectiveness of various interventions with isolated seniors. These included one-on-one intervention, telephone support, gatekeeper programs, group interventions of teleconferencing, support provision, Internet groups, and support groups. While there was not enough commonality in the types of interventions to consider the results conclusive, the authors felt the results could provide guidelines for Future Development. They confirmed that it is very important to:

·        Have high-quality approaches to the selection, training and support of the facilitator or

·        coordinators of the intervention

·        Involve older people in the planning implementation and evaluation stages

·        Use existing community resources and build capacity

·        Evaluate and disseminate the research

It is difficult to quantify the exact number of isolated seniors in a community however in a survey of the empirical literature published between 1948 and 1991it was found that between 2 and 20 percent of people over the age of 65 were socially isolated.

In Halton, the ESAC Quality of Life Report for Seniors in Halton used national data to identify those levels of social support decline with age, and up to 8% of seniors have no close relatives and 14% no close friends putting them at risk of becoming isolated.

Seniors and Social Isolation: A Complex Issue 2

 Working with family members to help aging parents to become engaged in the

Community seniors centre is a slow process. While the adult children want

this experience for mom/ dad, sometimes the parents are reluctant.

Factors that put seniors at risk of social isolation are listed below. The more risk factors, the greater the likelihood of social isolation:

·        Disabilities

·        Chronic illness/poor health

·        Experiencing a loss (of a spouse, home, job)

·        Experiencing abuse, sexism, racism, homophobia, financial issues

·        Language issues

·        Living alone

·        Reduced social networks

·        Transportation issues

·        Poverty or low income

·        Low self esteem

·        Being female

·        Being a single man

·        New to country

·        Lack of housing

Profile 2 – Characteristics of seniors most vulnerable to isolation are:

·        Men and women who have limited assistance with routine activities such as meal preparation, shopping, and transportation, with low emotional support

·        Women who have had low support with routine activities, reduced physical leisure activities and/or live alone

·        Men who are vulnerable to social isolation and have low emotional support

·        Older seniors (age 80 and older) compared to younger seniors (age 65-69) are more

·        vulnerable to social isolation if they have low support with routine activities, and reduced engagement in physical leisure activities and/or live alone 

·        Those who have experienced the death of a spouse, close relative or friends

Profile 3 - Seniors most likely to experience the most social exclusion:

·        Are older

·        Live in urban areas

·        Have no partner

·        Have activity limitations due to health

·        Are born outside of Canada

·        Have lower levels of education