The Benefits of Singing – Better Recall for Those with Dementia – Smilecast 74

The Benefits of Singing Instructions to Dementia Patients

Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine conducted a study to see if Alzheimer’s patients would be better able to recall new information if it was sung to them. Alzheimer’s patients and healthy control subjects were visually presented with the lyrics to 40 songs. Half of the lyrics were presented along with the original recordings. The other half was presented in a spoken format.

The Alzheimer’s patients could more easily recall the lyrics when they were accompanied by the musical recording. Surprisingly, however, the healthy control group did not experience the same memory benefit of the musical recording. The benefits of singing are many!