Gary Calligas: Music therapy helps seniors reduce stress but offers other benefits

Playing, listening or singing to music has benefited many for thousands of years. However, music therapy, both active and passive, is especially beneficial for senior citizens who may be more stressed due to personal and family member’s illnesses, injuries, disabilities, depression, isolation, and/or financial worries or misfortunes.

Over the past few years, senior centers, senior apartment centers, assisted living centers, independent living communities, and nursing homes have begun to offer scheduled music therapy sessions for their residents. Many have utilized professionally trained music therapists or just their own staff to conduct the music therapy activities. Music therapy has shown to help their residents increase verbalization and social skills, help them improve listening skills, greatly improves their self-image and personal development, and offers other benefits. Music therapy has helped many seniors recall those past memorable times and experiences in their lives, when they hear a familiar song or melody played.

Passive music therapy does help improve listening skills, but also just listening to music may help a person control or handle their pain due to illnesses or injuries, thereby possibly reducing the need for a greater amount of pain relief medications. Likewise, music therapy along with physical therapy are a wonderful combination to enable a senior/boomer to improve their strength, balance, and coordination in a conjunction with the benefits of improving their listening skills and decreasing pain. Those reluctant to participate in their regular physical therapy are more prone to accept this therapy along with music therapy.

Active music therapy involves many possibilities, including instrumental learning and playing individually but possibly also in a band or group, songwriting, music composition, and of course, individual or group sing-alongs. Yes, karaoke does have its benefits for seniors and boomers. These and other music therapies help build the senior’s self esteem, their unique creativity, become part of a team spirit, aids in socialization with others, but mainly helps to decrease depression and loneliness.

Based upon my experience of witnessing senior citizens, both males and females, who regularly participate in senior choirs and choral groups, they thoroughly enjoy singing together but truly take pride when performing for others to benefit both them and their audiences. These senior choirs are often hosted by senior centers, senior living centers, churches, and other organizations in your city. Do consider joining these types of choral groups to benefit you?

While my mother was a resident of a nursing home for almost 5 years, I made a point to visit her during many of the music therapy activities. I was so amazed of her willingness to participate in the sing-alongs, but saw the positive uplifting spirit in her smiling face, gleaming eyes, and happy body movements as a result of such therapy. She seem to forget about her many ailments and pains. If you have a loved one in a nursing home or other senior living facility, consider visiting them during their group music therapy sessions, you might be amazed as well.

Please consider taking your elderly loved one or friend to a area symphony concert, Broadway show, musical event, and/or opera performance, they will enjoy truly enjoy this event. But do remember this is a form of musical therapy and will have many benefits for them both now and in the future.

(Note: Please listen at 9:05 a.m. Saturday, September 5, to THE BEST OF TIMES RADIO HOUR on News Radio 710 KEEL, when Michael Butterman, the Music Director and Conductor of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra will discuss the symphony’s upcoming concert season and how music can be beneficial to decrease stress in our lives. You can also listen to this radio show via the internet at www.710KEEL.com and via the RADIOPUP app on your apple and android devices.)

Gary L. Calligas is the publisher of The Best of Times, a free monthly magazine for mature adults in Northwest Louisiana and is the host of The Best of Times Radio Hour which airs at 9:05 am every Saturday on NEWS RADIO 710 KEEL. For more information, please visit www.thebestoftimesnews.com or email gary.calligas@gmail.com.