EMMA HELPS ACCESS PRECIOUS MUSICAL MEMORIES

When singer Emma Louise Richards first sang for our residents at Deer Park they were so enthused by her music they made the staff promise to have her back again, and now she’s a firm favourite.

Activities co-ordinator Alyce Barber said: “Emma sings songs from a wide range of eras, and residents join in and sing along with her. She takes their requests as well.

“We have lots of laughter – sometimes even a few tears along the way – and Emma is a very popular visitor. Our residents say she brings the sunshine in, even on a rainy day.

“Favourite songs among our ladies and gents include Que sera sera, Walking back to happiness, These boots are made for walking and Cotton Eye Joe – quite a mix really.

“It appears that people living with dementia can still tap into musical memories long after other types of memories fade, and familiar music can help otherwise hard-to-access memories re-emerge, so residents are reconnected with precious times in their lives they might otherwise forget.

“This, according to research, is because the regions of the brain that help us encode music-associated memories are the last to be damaged by dementia.

“So for anyone who has enjoyed music at some point in their lives, hearing old favourites again can trigger the feel-good hormones – endorphins – which may ease the depression, anxiety or agitation that sometimes accompanies the condition.

“Music has also been shown to improve people’s attention, concentration, cognition, speech and non-verbal communication skills. And it has physical benefits too, reducing heart rate and blood pressure, relieving muscle tension and even helping manage pain.

“For all these reasons we often play music, including personalised playlists, to our residents, as well as encouraging them to engage in singing, dancing and playing instruments, and we support them by holding their hand, tapping out the rhythm, singing or humming along, and moving to the music with them.”