A study conducted by scientists confirms that a love of music can become not only a source of aesthetic pleasure, but also a key to improving cognitive functions and memory.
This information was reported by Fox News, URA-Inform reports. .
Preliminary work
The study analyzed data from more than 1,107 people aged 40 years and older who did not suffer from dementia . The participants were a sample of the PROTECT study, which has been running in the UK since 2015 and focuses on brain health and dementia.
The period from March 2019 to March 2022 was allocated for data collection. Participants completed questionnaires about their experience playing musical instruments, singing, reading and listening to music, and rated their level of ability. On average, the study participants, who were 83% female, were about 67 years old.
Experiment
Next, participants completed an online cognitive test that assessed their memory and executive function levels. The results of the study showed that participants who played music showed higher cognitive abilities and improved memory compared to those who did not play music.
A particularly strong cognitive effect was seen in those who played the piano. The longer a person studied music, the more benefits he received. Lovers of singing also had excellent results.
«Based on the size of the study and our access to data, we were able to analyze various aspects of musicality and their relationship with cognitive function. Singing, for example, has been linked to improved executive function, which may be due to the social aspect of choir participation», — said one of the scientists.
Bottom Line
Based on these results, the researchers suggest encouraging music education and music practice from early childhood in as a means to protect brain health.
«We believe this can be integrated into general healthy lifestyle recommendations aimed at maintaining brain acuity in old age», — the specialist emphasized.
«Our results indicate that learning music can strengthen the brain, just like learning new things language», — she summed up.
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