Summary: A wide range of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, chronic pain, action disorders, and mental health issues, are proving to be effective alternative treatments for audio therapy. Research shows that music can manage heart rate, lessen stress, and even boost communication in memory-dead people.
Depending on individual choice, both active and passive music therapy, whether it is singing or merely listening, have advantages. Music’s cerebral effects are tremendous and profoundly personal, from calming seizures to improving walking cadence for Parkinson’s patients.
Important Information
- Neural Benefits: By modulating mind impulses, music can lower anxiety, manage heart rate, and peaceful seizure activity.
- Memory and Dementia: Alzheimer’s patients may retain their musical talent and use it to express themselves despite their memory decline.
- Personal Therapy: Any genre of music therapy has potential to be therapeutic in its own right, but it depends on individual tastes.
Origin: UT Arlington
Rhonda Winegar is fond of watching the 2014 video “I’ll Get Me,” which examined the struggles of country music star Glen Campbell with Alzheimer’s disease.
Winegar, an associate professor at The University of Texas at Arlington and a nurse practitioner in neuroscience with 25 years of experience, was struck by how the condition had robbed Campbell of so much of his life, despite being able to still play his guitar and sing his music.
He kept veering off, and Winegar warned that they would have to place him up on the stage.
He could also play those challenging chords and retain the songs to his songs. I frequently suggest that film to my patients who have recently been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s because it helps them understand the condition.
Winegar was inspired by that knowledge to do more thorough research on the subject. While shamans used ritual drumming to ward off illness for some 20, 000 years, Winegar discovered how powerful song can be as a cure for a variety of conditions, including dementia, severe pain, developmental delays, and heart rate regulation.
She and her author, Dustin Hixenbaugh, a professor at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas, coauthored” Using Music as an Adjunctive Treatment,” which was published in the March 2025 issue of The Journal for Nurse Practitioners.
Winegar claimed that song “delays aging in situations like Alzheimer’s.”
Patients with memory issues occasionally become restless and disturbed, which may start affecting their ability to communicate and speak. However, if they can speak, they may express their emotions, which helps to lessen anxiety, depression, and anxiety.
Winegar compared the two forms of music treatment: quiet hearing, which involves basically playing an instrument or performing, and lively, which involves playing an instrument or song. In various circumstances, both can be advantageous.
Winegar, a military veteran who served from 1987 to 2003, recalls how songs helped her through a hard day as a bulwark.
When you’re running and music plays, Winegar said, “it may force you to keep going.” Patients with Parkinson’s disease and other action disorders can increase their walking rhythm and frequency simply by listening to music in a medical setting.
Music has been shown to reduce epilepsy action in neuroscience by calming off unnatural electrical impulses in the mind. Additionally, research has demonstrated that music can manage spirit level and blood pressure by preventing excessive agitation in the nervous system.
Winegar said that it completely depends on the individual when it comes to the most enjoyable musical styles. Some people might find country music to be more energizing, or the other way around. Personal preference is crucial.
Winegar, who is also a fan of country music, organized her lecture at the 2017 International Country Music Conference in Nashville last year with her studies.
We focused on how to use country music in a medical environment, she said.
It frequently uses personal accounts of struggle, such as my wife left me, my adult family, and my truck starting. We organized our assessment around the notion that music can act as a support system, facilitating connections between listeners and those going through the same difficulties.
In the end, she continued,” Audio is a strong tool.”
” It costs nothing to turn on the radio, and it can be there for you when times are rough, whether it’s painful, or despondent.” It can inspire you, encourage you to work out, or provide relaxation. Our family has often benefited from song. That is the most crucial conclusion from this study.
About this information about songs and mental health research
Author: Drew Davison
Source: UT Arlington
Contact: Drew Davison – UT Arlington
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Initial studies has been made private.
Rhonda Winegar et seq.” Using Music as an Adjunctive Treatment.” Journal of Nurse Practitioners
Abstract
Using Music as an Adjunctive Treatment
Nurse practitioners are essential for providing integrated patient care, and incorporating music therapy can drastically improve the health of people with a variety of medical conditions.
Music therapy, which is acknowledged for promoting real, emotional, and psychological treatment, reduces stress and anxiety, regulates metabolic measures like blood pressure, and helps relieve pain.
Beyond just being comfortable, it has a good effect, making it a useful substitute for conventional therapies. Access may be affected by economic factors like program costs and uneven insurance coverage.
Affordableness is enhanced by strategies like sliding level fees and neighborhood resources, making it crucial for health care providers to support individual access to this potent medicinal option.
