Alzheimer’s

Senior moments and the healing power of music



Forgetting things like where you left your keys or the name of your colleague’s youngest child? Well the good news is that the experiences like these are perfectly normal and no, they don’t mean you’re getting Alzheimer’s.

The signs of early Alzheimer’s are typically noticed by other people often marked by repetitive speech, forgetting important events, an inability to manage medication, and difficulty finding one’s way around familiar places ( like getting lost on the way home from the supermarket )



The bad news is you can expect more of these episodes with the passing of years, unfortunately, a decrease in brain function is inevitable as we all grow older.



Changes as we all grow older are inevitable with no known preventative agents to stop the onset of Alzheimer’s disease but we can do something about it and slow its progress.



Even with the onset of the Disease, state of the art medication can only slightly delay the progress, yet we all have the ability within ourselves to slow the disease significantly by several years through lifestyle changes and enhanced thinking abilities resulting in a lower economic burden, such as the cost of nursing homes and often the position we find our selves in having to retire from work earlier than anticipated.



Mentally and physically stimulating activities such as playing a guitar has been proven to build cognitive reserves that protect us from changes in thinking abilities that result from aging or disease.



These activities such as playing a guitar help stimulate a buffer against aging and disease so that it takes a longer period of time to see damage, its never to early or late to learn, adults of all ages involved in musical activities do better on cognitive test, not everyone has the room for a piano, but a guitar takes up little space and can be taken with you to the cottage or gatherings of friends.



As I said its no to late to learn to play the guitar, it just has to be challenging without being frustrating, and most importantly you have to enjoy it, if you don’t enjoy it you won’t benefit.



As we get older our world becomes smaller, we become less engaged in outside life, we loose friends, we loose family so keeping mentally active requires effort, playing the guitar develops camaraderie and mental stimulation, plus it can be lots of fun.



Exercising the brain by learning to play the guitar will help you stay sharp, keep the body and mind active. it won’t stop the aging process but will enhance the quality of life and slow the onset of disease, music is the prescription for a healthier life.







Warm regards



Rob Taylor
wdcob@rogers.com