How Music Strengthens the Brain: New Research on Dementia Prevention

While a cure for dementia has yet to be invented, all possible preventive measures should be considered.

Regular cognitive training, the necessity of maintaining physical activity, and learning new hobbies have been emphasized from every corner, but now scientists have found another non-trivial way to protect against age-related brain changes — listening to music.

Moreover, it doesn’t matter what kind of music is listened to, as long as the person enjoys it.

There is much known about the miraculous effects of music: it helps reduce stress levels, improves mood, enhances concentration, and even prevents motion sickness in cars. However, researchers from Monash University, Australia, have now discovered that regular listening to favorite songs can positively impact the cognitive health of people over 70 years old!

Research

Nearly 10,900 Australians over the age of 70 expressed their willingness to participate in the study. None of them suffered from dementia at the time of inclusion in the observation.

Next, the scientists asked them to undergo testing, in which participants needed to report the frequency of music listening and the learning of any musical instrument. To determine the relationship between the level of engagement in musical activities and the risk of developing dementia, Cox proportional hazards models were used starting from the third year of the study. The authors also considered the age, gender, and education level of the participants.

The results from the observations showed that regular music listening reduces the risk of developing dementia and cognitive decline overall by 39%, while playing musical instruments reduces it by 35%. However, the latter hobby does not improve cognitive health; its effect is not long-term, unlike the former.

How Music Heals

The study also showed that those who listened to music and played it daily had a 33% lower risk of dementia and a 22% lower risk of cognitive impairments. The benefits of engaging in music were most noticeable among people with higher education (a total of 16+ years), while the results in the group with secondary education (12–15 years) were ambiguous.

Establishing a causal relationship in this study was impossible, but scientists believe it relates to how our brain processes the music we listen to. Favorite songs activate several areas of the brain, including those responsible for memory, attention, and emotional responses, which helps strengthen the connections between nerve cells and improves cognitive abilities.

Naturally, listening to a song should not be viewed as a standalone preventive measure. Protecting oneself from age-related changes can only be achieved by taking a comprehensive approach.