Alzheimer's disease: Meditation, music may help reverse early memory loss in older adults

New York: A new study has revealed that practicing a simple meditation or listening a music program may have multiple benefits for older adults with preclinical memory loss.

The findings showed that in older adults with subjective cognitive decline - a condition that may represent a preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease - practicing 'Kirtan Kriya' meditation and engaging in music listening programme showed improvements in attention, executive function, processing speed and subjective memory function.

Subjective cognitive decline is a condition in which a person experiences worsening of thinking abilities such as memory, which sometimes lead to Alzheimer’s or dementia.

For the study, researchers analysed 60 older adults who were assigned to either a beginner meditation (Kirtan Kriya) or music listening programme and asked to practice 12 minutes/day for 12 weeks.

They found that both the meditation and music groups showed marked and significant improvements in subjective memory function and objective cognitive performance at 3 months.

The study suggests that two simple mind-body practices, Kirtan Kriya meditation and music listening, may not only improve mood, sleep and quality of life, but also boost cognition and help reverse perceived memory loss in older adults with subjective cognitive decline, said Kim Innes from West Virginia University in the US.

The improvement observed in memory and cognitive function were maintained or further increased at six months (three months post-intervention), the researchers said.

The study has been published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

(With IANS inputs)