University of Exeter experts recently found that older people who have listened to or “engaged in music” for most of their lives have better memories and better brain health. In the end, music can help people remember things better by protecting their general memory.
Professor of Dementia Research at the University of Exeter and lead researcher Anne Corbett said, “The main message here is that different ways of engaging with music throughout life could be linked to different benefits.” She went on, “This has implications for public health, for how important it is to include music in general education, and for how important it is to keep doing music throughout life or come back to it in middle or late life.”
More than 1,100 people aged 40 and up who had not been labeled with dementia were looked at as part of the study. From March 2019 to March 2022, people filled out surveys about their experiences playing an instrument, singing, reading music, or listening to music. This information was then collected. They also took a test to see how well they could remember things and use their brain function.
The research showed that people who played musical instruments had better memories and smarter minds. Having said that, playing the piano was found to improve brain function the most, and the longer someone plays, the better the benefits.
While listening to music may have been good for your brain, the study shows that learning music had the biggest effect. Anne Corbett said, “Our results show that learning and enjoying music can strengthen the brain in a way similar to learning a new language.”
They were honest about some of the study’s flaws, like the fact that they didn’t look at what happened when people learned an instrument later in life. They also said that the small number of people who played certain instruments “could have contributed to their findings.”
