This is the 78th instalment in a
series on dementia, including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers, and stories of hope.
I am listening to music as I write this: “Out of My Head” by First Aid Kit.
It is an appropriate track, given the title of this series and the piece of writing I am working on.
Recently, researchers from the school of public health and preventive medicine at Monash University in Australia published a study that found people who had a habit of always listening to music had a 39 per cent lower risk of developing dementia.
They also scored higher in global cognition: how well you perform in all cognitive areas such as memory, attention, language and problem-solving.
Professor Joanne Ryan, head of the university’s biological neuropsychiatry and dementia unit, and one of the lead study authors, explained the research.