الموسيقى وكبار السن: الذاكرة والمزاج والتواصلMusic and older adults: memory, mood and connection

Many of us have seen a grandparent remember a whole song from their youth while forgetting yesterday. Music stays with us a long time.

Healthy older adults

A 2025 meta-analysis of nine randomised trials in people over 60 without cognitive impairment found that structured music programmes, such as singing, playing and rhythm exercises, were linked with small improvements in global cognition, memory and executive function, but not attention. Another meta-analysis in The Gerontologist, pooling 33 studies, found similar results.

With dementia

The updated Cochrane review (2025) found that music-based interventions for people with dementia probably improve depressive symptoms slightly and may ease some behavioural problems, while the evidence on thinking skills is less certain. These programmes are usually led by specialists, and we do not provide dementia care.

What families can do

• Play music from the person's youth and talk about the memories it brings.
• Sing together, even softly; it is a lovely moment of connection.
• Keep the volume moderate, the room quiet and the time short enough for their energy.

We can make an instrumental track for someone you love, with the maqams and instruments they grew up with, as a warm gift and a shared moment of calm.