From humming along in the car to tapping a foot at home, music has always brought joy — now it turns out it might also help protect our memory.
A major study of more than 10,800 older adults, led by Monash University honours student Emma Jaffa and Professor Joanne Ryan, found that regularly listening to music after the age of 70 is linked to a 39 per cent lower risk of developing dementia.
Those who always listened to music — compared with those who only did so occasionally or rarely — also had a 17 per cent lower chance of cognitive decline and performed better on memory and thinking tests.
And the benefits weren’t just limited to listening. Making music, such as singing or playing an instrument, was associated with a 35 per cent lower dementia risk. Older adults who both listened to and played music regularly had an even greater benefit — a 33 per cent lower risk of dementia and a 22 per cent lower risk of cognitive impairment.
According to Jaffa, the findings of the study “suggests music activities may be an accessible strategy for maintaining cognitive health in older adults, though causation cannot be established.”
Professor Ryan added that with no cure currently available for dementia, identifying lifestyle-based ways to reduce risk is vital.
“Evidence suggests that brain ageing is not just based on age and genetics but can be influenced by one’s own environmental and lifestyle choices. Our study suggests that lifestyle-based interventions, such as listening and/or playing music can promote cognitive health,” she said.
Listening to music doesn’t just boost our brainpower — it can also lift our mood, especially when it’s the songs we loved in our younger years.
According to licensed therapist and Tik Tok user, Nikki Roy, there is a name for that surge of happiness we get from listening to nostalgic music and it’s called neural nostalgia.
In a video shared to Tik Tok, Nikki explained the phenomenon and why it’s so powerful for our adult brains even though the music was from our teenage and early adult years.
@nikkiroy.collection Replying to @Amanda G | Travelmation Agent neural nostalgia with the coolest connections as to why this occurs #neuralnostalgia #musichealingvibes #innerchildhealing ♬ original sound – Nikki // Real 🌎 Mental Health
Nikki explained why neural nostalgia has such a powerful impact on adult brains.
“Researchers are actually finding that the music we listened to as teenagers binds to our brains differently than anything we’re ever going to hear as adults,” she said.
As a result, she says it’s “one of the best coping skills” and admits to listening to the music she loved when she was a teen.
“It actually helps us,” she explained.
“It makes us feel alive again.”
So next time you put on a favourite song from your younger years, you might not just be reliving happy memories — you could also be giving your brain a healthy boost.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.