According to a recent study, singing classical tunes from hit musicals can increase the brain function of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers examined the effects of singing over a four-month period at an East Coast care home. Those with Alzheimer's participated in singing sessions where they collectively sang popular tunes from The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, The Wizard of Oz and Pinocchio. Those who regularly took part in the group singing had an increased mental performance over the quarter of a year, proven by cognitive tests that were implemented both before and after the four-month period. Individuals who consistently sang were more likely to perform better on certain tasks, such as drawing the hands on a clock to correspond to the appropriate time. In spite of their condition, many patients even remembered the words to the songs from their childhood.
"Even when people are in the fairly advanced stages of dementia, when it is so advanced they are in a secure ward, singing sessions were still helpful. The message is: don't give up on these people. You need to be doing things that engage them, and singing is cheap, easy and engaging," Jane Flinn, neuroscientist at George Mason University in Virginia, said in a statement.
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