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New AARP Report Shows Power of Music on the Brain

Sing dance move to the beat It s all good for mood memory and more

Getty Images If you want to do something good for your brain, turn on your music player and sing along to a few songs. Better yet, sing and dance at the same time. It sounds like a simple exercise, but, really, it's a full brain workout. That's because music stimulates many areas of the brain, including those responsible for memory, movement and mood, (GCBH). Music even gets different parts of the brain working together simultaneously. How Music Can Keep Your Brain Healthy "Nothing activates the brain like music,” says Jonathan Burdette, a professor of neuroradiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and a contributor to the GCBH report.
And all that brain activation translates into some serious health benefits. Researchers have found that music can improve sleep and sharpen memory, as well as reduce stress and stimulate thinking skills — all of which are good for maintaining brain health as we age. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. "Music makes everything we know about improving your brain easier,” says Sarah Lenz Lock, senior vice president for policy and brain health at AARP and executive director of the GCBH. “It makes the medicine go down." AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > Along with improving mood, music promotes movement — another key component to brain health. Emerging research shows that one of the best ways to protect the health of your brain as you age is to embrace healthy lifestyle habits, including regular physical activity. And music can be an enjoyable way to get in that exercise, the GCBH notes. Music can even make exercise seem easier and help speed up recovery after a hard workout, the report's authors explain. "Music enables this balance between creativity and predictability, and I think that helps the brain learn, and it feels rewarding,” GCBH contributor Loui says. “And I think that balance is really good for the brain, especially in aging.” AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. regain their speech through singing. Similarly, many adults with Parkinson's disease struggle to walk, and improve gait. "The unique thing about music and dance is its rhythmic nature provides an external source for meter or pulse,” which can help the brain restore impaired movement, the UCSF's Johnson says. For older adults with dementia, caregivers and therapists use music to trigger memories. A song from someone's childhood, for example, can help the patient recall people and places from that time in her life. Music can also be used to treat dementia agitation, “which may take the form of aggressiveness, wandering, restlessness and other undesirable behaviors,” the GCBH report states.

Music can improve brain health now

The best news from the report is that it takes very little time, money and effort to reap the brain benefits that music provides. Recommendations from the report include singing and dancing more, listening to new and familiar tunes, and engaging in music with others. Of course, playing an instrument is good for the brain, too, as it requires the use of many cognitive skills, such as attention and memory. “But not everybody can do that,” Wake Forest's Burdette observes. “And I don't want people to feel bad if they're not learning how to play the violin at age 75.” Rather, he says, it's about making a little room in your life for music, more broadly. Even just listening to music has its benefits, AARP's Lock says.

Looking to the future

Studies exploring music's impact on health and well-being have come a long way in recent years. Last September the National Institutes of Health announced a $20 million investment to support research into music's benefits for a wide range of medical disorders. Even so, experts say more needs to be done to fully understand the protective and healing benefits music can have on brain health. "We inherently understand that music is powerful. But the fact that we don't have more proof of it is surprising,” Lock says. The GCBH report notes that more studies are needed to understand whether music can reduce risk for cognitive decline and dementia, for example, and whether music can affect reasoning skills. Lock would also like to see research on how music can provide more immediate relief for dementia sufferers and their caregivers. “To me, research about outcomes that matter and music's ability to improve those outcomes would be the most important part,” she adds. Choir Helps Stroke Survivors Regain Their Voice More on health AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS