The Benefits of Music at the End of Life
Whether you grew up in the roaring 20’s listening to Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong; the 30’s swinging to Glen Miller and crooning to the soulful voice of Bing Crosby; the 40’s with the gospel voice of Sister Rosetta Tharpe; or the 60’s enjoying the growing popularity of rock & roll and the Beatles, I hope that we can all agree that music left its mark on our memories.
There is a reason why you can’t remember what you ate for dinner last night, but you do remember all the words to your favorite song or the one that you danced to on your wedding day. These are happy moments that are embedded in out memory. Music is an important part of our human existence and something that we can all relate to on some level.
Music therapy has been popular within the memory care field for quite some time and has been proven to help stimulate memory and emotion.
Studies prove that music can relieve anxiety, agitation, and boost your mood. It can also help to lessen pain, promote deeper breathing, and help to facilitate communication and emotional expression. There is a relatively new interest in the benefits of music during the end of life experience. Hearing is the last sense to leave us so it makes sense that playing a loved ones favorite music is just what the doctor ordered (so to speak).
As an example, I had a lovely lady who was an avid ballroom dancer. During her end of life journey she would become very agitated but when I put on Glen Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade”, a peaceful look would come over her face. As another example, I sat vigil with a gentlemen who passed away peacefully while listening to “I saw the Light” by Hank Williams.
When choosing what music to play, there are a few things to keep in mind. It needs to be significant to the person, with the goal of meeting an emotional or spiritual need. These choices can be discussed early-on to eliminate any guesswork (see my previous blog about open conversations).
One other thing to keep in mind is to remember to play the music at a reasonable level. Blaring music is not comforting, even to those of us who grew up rocking to the Rolling Stones!
As always, don’t forget to say things like “I love you”, “thank you”, I forgive you”, “please forgive me”, and “I will miss you”.
Judith Arasi - End of Life Doula 