Music's Healing Power: Bringing patients with Alzheimer's disease back to life

Whether old or young, rich or poor, or from any part of the world, we all understand music.

Music, in a way, is a kind of a universal constant across all religions, cultures, countries and generations.

Music has existed since the beginning of time and it is still a powerful cultural agent in our societies today.

What impresses me most about music, though, is its power to have an effect on our very inmost being - our very soul.

Music's effect on our mood

If you are sad, you might choose to listen to some melancholy music to drown away your feelings or to something really pumped up so you can overcome them.

Music can be used in parties to hype people up or in funerals to express deep sorrow.

There is something unique about the way music works in every situation that can affect our minds and hearts.

Because listening to music engages a variety of different parts of our brain, it can have a lasting effect on our mood and wellbeing.

When listening to music, we are actually engaging certain wave patterns (beta, delta, theta, etc.) which create electrical impulses in our brains. These patterns and electric "shocks" can affect our experiences, the way we perceive them and how we remember them in the long run.

So be warned: You are - and become - the music you listen to.

Music's power to bring people back to life

I think one of the most amazing things about music is its ability to bring people back to life. Literally. And what's super cool is that there are people using music to do just that.

These organizations study the effect of music in our brains by analyzing and monitoring how music affects patients with Alzheimer and other brain diseases.

One study selected patients in a retirement center to study and analyze who were almost at the last straw of their journey - they had little understanding about their surroundings, never moved, and almost looked to be in a vegetate state.

So the researchers did the only thing they could do: They turned up the volume.

And the results were astounding.

It was amazing to see then how the patients came back to life when the notes and melodies of the music touched them, especially music from the patient's generation.

The patients started to move, drum and clap their hands, and some even began to sing (see video below or click here).

These were people who could not remember their names or family members. They could not even remember what they had done yesterday. BUT they remembered the songs.

Music was able to bring back joy and alertness to these people's lives through the use of some simple beats and melodies.

So next time someone says music is just some simple notes played on an instrument or sung by a choir, feel happy that you understand music is more than that.

Know in your heart how big of a miracle it is to listen with more than just your ears.

Listen with your heart to the tune. Listen with your soul to the notes.

And share these moments with others.

Open yourself to the power of music - it might just bring you back to life when you most need it.

"Without music life would be a mistake"

Trust the process. Live the commitment.