Dementia sorrowfully robs a person of loving memories and the ability to function cognitively. Those with dementia can become combative, increasing forgetful, and lose their sense of time. Doctors anticipate that dementia will impact an unprecedented number of individuals in the near future, but one thing remains the same – music has a healing touch. Research shows that singing can help dementia patients regain some of their cognitive skills. In fact, those with dementia who sing along with someone fare better than others who simply listen.
Listening to singing triggers activity in the right temporal lobe, while singing along stimulates both the right and left sides of the brain. That’s why the compassionate granddaughter in the video below is singing to her grandmother who is nestled safely in her bed under a heap of blankets at her nursing home. The granddaughter told her beloved that she was going to sing to her and she responded, “I can’t wait.” The granddaughter begins singing Whitney Houston’s hit “I Will Always Love You.” Grandma instantly becomes silent, staring at her granddaughter with emotions roiling across her face.
Enthralled with the song, Grandma nods as her granddaughter sings, even calling her her baby. The granddaughter has an amazing voice and sings a cappella. The granddaughter alters the words a bit and sings, “Oh Nana, I love you and I’ll always, I’ll always love you.” Grandma begins to sniff and seems to shed a tear. They exchange a quick smooch and Grandma calls it “lovely.” Watch this emotionally-charged exchange between two generations as Grandma is gifted with song from her adoring granddaughter. This quickly would become a moment no one in the family would ever forget.
