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dementia

Health

These 23 songs every Broadway fan knows could actually help fight dementia

Back in 2013, researchers in the U.S. stumbled upon a novel new treatment for dementia patients: listening to show tunes. Seriously.

Photo by Jordhan Madec on Unsplash

A picture taken of the Broadway street sign in New York City.

This article originally appeared on 02.26.16


Back in 2013, researchers in the U.S. stumbled upon a novel new treatment for dementia patients: listening to show tunes. Seriously.

A study of nursing home patients found that residents who sang show tunes — specifically from "Oklahoma!" "The Wizard of Oz," and "The Sound of Music" — demonstrated increased mental performance, according to a report in the New York Daily News:

"Researchers working with elderly residents at an East Coast care home found in a four-month long study ... that people who sang their favorite songs showed a marked improvement compared to those who just listened."
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Pop Culture

A viral short film shows the struggles families face when dealing with dementia

'The Wait' was originally released in 2018, but has recently resurfaced thanks to Reddit.

A short film shows the complexities of dealing with an ailing parent.

Caring for an ailing parent takes a real toll on a person. And when you're dealing with other things in your life, it can feel like you're drowning. In a short film called "The Wait," director Jason McColgan paints a heartbreaking but realistic portrait of what it is like to care for an aging parent suffering from dementia.

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Woman screams at a TikTok user she accused of stealing a car.

Guilherme Peruca turned on his phone's camera and started recording after an elderly woman began screaming at him through his passenger side window in a Lowe's parking lot. The woman was accusing him of stealing her friend's car, but she was mistaken.

"I need help!" the woman yells outside of his passenger side window. "Someone's trying to steal my best friend's car."

When Peruca told the woman the car was his she yelled back, "Get outta here" as she tried to pry open the door.

"He's stealing this car, it's not his!" the woman continued. "I don't care what he says!"

Eventually, a Lowe's employee intervened to sort out the situation. Peruca showed her his driver's license and car registration to prove the vehicle was his and then the employee calmly guided the woman away.

Peruca didn't need to show her his paperwork but he did so anyway just to deescalate the situation.

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Canva

Dr. David McPhee offers advice for talking to someone living in a different time in their head.

Few things are more difficult than watching a loved one's grip on reality slipping away. Dementia can be brutal for families and caregivers, and knowing how to handle the various stages can be tricky to figure out.

The Alzheimer's Association offers tips for communicating in the early, middle and late stages of the disease, as dementia manifests differently as the disease progresses. The Family Caregiver Alliance also offers advice for talking to someone with various forms and phases of dementia. Some communication tips deal with confusion, agitation and other challenging behaviors that can come along with losing one's memory, and those tips are incredibly important. But what about when the person is seemingly living in a different time, immersed in their memories of the past, unaware of what has happened since then?

Psychologist David McPhee shared some advice with a person on Quora who asked, "How do I answer my dad with dementia when he talks about his mom and dad being alive? Do I go along with it or tell him they have passed away?"

McPhee wrote:

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