Music and Memory - Is There a Connection with Eating?
“Personal music may ease swallowing
issues for people with advanced dementia, according to a 2018 study published
in Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research
and Practice. Promising
results reported in the pilot study, conducted at Columbia Health Care Center
in Wyocena, WI in collaboration with Music and Memory and researchers at
Stony Brook University indicate that personal music has the potential to
improve food intake, nutrition and hydration at a critical point in the disease
process.”
While the study is very small and
statistically insignificant, what harm would it do to include music into the
lives of people living with dementia?
Remembering to include all senses when eating may just be the key to
increasing the quality of life for these residents.
Erin Van Valkenburgh, RDN CSG CDP - Director of Clinical and Wellness Support - Mid West Region