New Zealand Study Shows Positive Effect of Music and Dance on Older Adults With Dementia

New Zealand researchers recently conducted a pilot study published in the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias on the effects of music and dance on older adults with dementia, reports News-Medical . The team used familiar, reminiscent music and the natural gestures of 22 participants to design dance exercises. The goal was to encourage an improved quality of life for people with dementia via memory stimulation, mood moderation, and social interaction. Over the course of 10 weekly sessions, the intuitive movement re-embodiment program supplied humor, imagination, and intuition, which motivated participants to dance and interact. Following the sixth session, participants noted significant improvements in their quality of life. "Positive responses such as memory recalling, spontaneous dancing, and joking with each other were observed in every session," said the University of Otago's Ting Choo. "These observations have certainly reversed the stereotypical understanding of this group of people being passive and immobile. The music stimulates their responses much better than verbal instructions."