Music key to mental health in old age

Maintaining our mental health with music

As a qualified musician, as well as writing this blog about mental health, I was very interested to read recently about a Scottish study that suggests playing a musical instrument can have lifelong mental health benefits — including staving off dementia.

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University compared the mental agility of musicians and non-musicians aged between 60 and 88 in memory and spatial reasoning tests. Those who played an instrument completed tasks up to 25% more quickly.

Professor Alan Gow, who led the study, published in scientific journal Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, said it “highlighted that learning and playing a musical instrument may be associated with cognitive differences in older age, and supports musical activity as a potentially cognitively protective lifestyle factor”.

I have written many times about the simple things that we can do that can have a lasting impact on our mental health, and learning or playing an instrument can also bring a lot of joy. But maybe talk to your neighbours before you start playing the drums…
Chris Hunt ACII is qualified in rehabilitation, Pilates, meditation, personal training, NLP, and Thai Massage. Contact Chris here or for more information about simple and free wellness advice click on www.pilatesevo.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *