![\"Dementia](\"https:\/\/blueheronhealthnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Listening-to-music-387469174.jpg\")
Most of us enjoy this activity although many consider it just a distraction.<\/p>\nMost of us enjoy this activity although many consider it just a distraction.<\/p>\n
Now a new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society<\/em> proves that it is not only enjoyable but is also a pretty decent treatment for mild cognitive impairment or dementia.<\/p>\n Many previous studies have linked both listening to and creating music to dementia relief, which prompted University of Pittsburgh scientists to ask themselves whether there was a difference between the two.<\/p>\n They collected previously published studies on the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and both listening to and making music.<\/p>\n Mild cognitive impairment is a tricky stage between the slight brain-fog of normal aging and dementia or Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Less than half of people with this level of impairment go on to develop Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n Using medical sciences databases, they found 21 studies with 1,472 participants that looked at the relationship between music and cognitive function, positive and negative emotions, depression, and social engagement.<\/p>\n All the subjects were struggling either with mild cognitive impairment or with mild or moderate dementia.<\/p>\n They found that active music-making, more than merely listening, could help to improve cognitive function and emotional well-being.<\/p>\n All the studies found a positive link between music-making and improvements in thinking and memory.<\/p>\n Regarding emotions, most of the surveyed studies found a small but significant improvement in depression symptoms, but the findings on anxiety were mixed. Music-making was, in fact, just as effective as physical exercise at reducing depression.<\/p>\n Since it is easier to learn to play a musical instrument when you are younger, it is worth doing so as an insurance policy against dementia.<\/p>\n As one of the surveyed studies showed that listening to music was more effective than singing, it is probably better if you don\u2019t rely on that alone.<\/p>\n This study proves that musical interventions for elderly people with cognitive difficulties should be designed on a larger scale to reap whatever benefits they hold.<\/p>\n