Music has the power to transporting us back to a particular experience, memory, or era without that being its intended purpose. The documentary, Alive Inside, provided a look into how the brain’s reaction to music for nursing home residents with dementia provided an alternative therapy by allowing them to temporarily regain the memories and movement of their younger years. At the suggestion of Dan Cohen, social worker, nursing home volunteer and non-profit organizer of Music & Memory, the film’s director followed him for a day and what he discovered that day of the extent of influence that music had on these individuals, he decided to continue to follow Cohen for three years to document the phenomenal effects that this type of therapy. Through
…show more content…
The dramatic difference in his countenance and recall with music in comparison to without became quite the internet sensation and encouraged them to consider using this with their aging family members. The most important aspect of the film examined the quality of life within the modern nursing home and how the extent of institutionalization of this type of facility minimizes the individuality of its residents into the sole role of patient. It also compared the effects of music to the effects of pharmaceuticals and how significant it would be to implement this type of therapy in nursing homes to help its residents maintain some type of normalcy and identity because the power of music provided a healing relief even if temporarily. Whereas drugs seemed to only sedate and exacerbate their cognitive deficiencies and they become …show more content…
However, as we age the risks of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease increases and will continue to increase especially with the longer lifespans our society sees today. Basically, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is the deterioration of the brain’s capacity to recall memories, thought processes and behavioral tasks needed to carry out activities of daily living and frequently individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s require constant care (Berk, 2014). Considering this especially as the Baby Boomer generation moves into the late adulthood phase, the increase of those with dementia or Alzheimer’s will reach exceptionally high numbers and the ability to care for them will become a growing societal challenge (Berk, 2014). Utilizing alternative treatments for cognitive debilitating diseases is quite important, otherwise, we will be faced with a larger population of sedated, vegetated individuals relying completely on the institutionalized care of nursing homes. An interesting statement made in the film mentioned that the science of how music enters and is processed by the brain may explain why it is able to revive the heart and soul of one with dementia because the location of where music memory is stored is the one of the last places Alzheimer’s reaches (Rossato-Bennett, 2014). How important would it be to include the musical therapy of Music & Memory into the daily structure of nursing home lifestyle
The dramatic difference in his countenance and recall with music in comparison to without became quite the internet sensation and encouraged them to consider using this with their aging family members. The most important aspect of the film examined the quality of life within the modern nursing home and how the extent of institutionalization of this type of facility minimizes the individuality of its residents into the sole role of patient. It also compared the effects of music to the effects of pharmaceuticals and how significant it would be to implement this type of therapy in nursing homes to help its residents maintain some type of normalcy and identity because the power of music provided a healing relief even if temporarily. Whereas drugs seemed to only sedate and exacerbate their cognitive deficiencies and they become …show more content…
However, as we age the risks of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease increases and will continue to increase especially with the longer lifespans our society sees today. Basically, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is the deterioration of the brain’s capacity to recall memories, thought processes and behavioral tasks needed to carry out activities of daily living and frequently individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s require constant care (Berk, 2014). Considering this especially as the Baby Boomer generation moves into the late adulthood phase, the increase of those with dementia or Alzheimer’s will reach exceptionally high numbers and the ability to care for them will become a growing societal challenge (Berk, 2014). Utilizing alternative treatments for cognitive debilitating diseases is quite important, otherwise, we will be faced with a larger population of sedated, vegetated individuals relying completely on the institutionalized care of nursing homes. An interesting statement made in the film mentioned that the science of how music enters and is processed by the brain may explain why it is able to revive the heart and soul of one with dementia because the location of where music memory is stored is the one of the last places Alzheimer’s reaches (Rossato-Bennett, 2014). How important would it be to include the musical therapy of Music & Memory into the daily structure of nursing home lifestyle