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Credit: Getty Images for Unsplash+<\/p>\n Credit: Getty Images for Unsplash+<\/p>\n
Older people who listen to music often slash their risk of dementia by more than a third, according to a new study.<\/p>\n
The researchers studied people over the age of 70 and found that listening to music\u2014or playing an instrument\u2014is linked to a reduction of up to 39% in the chances of developing the debilitating condition.<\/p>\n
Increases in life expectancy due to advances in medicine and technology have seen a rise in the prevalence of age\u2010related diseases, including dementia and cognitive decline.<\/p>\n
The new study, involving more than 10,800 older people, looked at the benefits of listening to or playing music.<\/p>\n
The findings showed that always listening to music\u2014compared with never, rarely, or sometimes doing so\u2014was associated with a 39% decreased risk of dementia.<\/p>\n
Playing an instrument was associated with a 35% reduction in dementia risk, according to the study published<\/a> in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.<\/p>\n Always listening to music was also associated with a 17% lower incidence of cognitive impairment, as well as higher scores in overall cognition and \u2018episodic memory\u2019, which is used when recalling everyday events.<\/p>\n Regularly engaging in both listening to and playing music was associated with a 33% decreased risk of dementia and 22% decreased risk of cognitive impairment.<\/p>\n \u201cEvidence suggests that brain aging is not just based on age and genetics but can be influenced by one\u2019s own environmental and lifestyle choices,\u201d said the study\u2019s senior author<\/a> Professor Joanne Ryan of Monash University in Australia.<\/p>\n