Lifetime exposure to music is associated with better brain health in old age

Lifelong exposure to music is associated with better brain health in older age, according to new research published by experts at the University of Exeter.

Scientists working on PROTECT, an online study open to people over 40, looked at data from more than a thousand adults over 40 to see the effect of playing a musical instrument – ​​or singing in a choir – on brain health. Over 25,000 people have enrolled in the PROTECT study, which has been running for 10 years.

The team reviewed the participants’ musical experience and lifetime exposure to music, along with cognitive test scores, to determine whether musicality helps keep the brain sharp in later life.

The findings show that playing a musical instrument, especially the piano, is associated with improved memory and the ability to solve complex tasks – known as executive function. Continuing to play later in life provides even greater benefit. The work also suggests that singing is also associated with better brain health, although this may also be due to the social factors of being part of a choir or group.

A number of studies have looked at the effects of music on brain health. Our PROTECT study gave us a unique opportunity to investigate the relationship between cognitive performance and music in a large cohort of older adults. Overall, we think that being musical can be a way to harness the agility and resilience of the brain, known as cognitive reserve.”

Ann Corbett, Professor of Dementia Research, University of Exeter

“Although more research is needed to explore this link, our findings suggest that promoting music education would be a valuable part of public health initiatives to promote protective lifestyles for brain health, as well as promoting more -adults to return to music in later life. is significant evidence of the benefit of music group activities for people with dementia and this approach could be extended as part of a healthy aging package for older people to enable them to proactively reduce risk and promote brain health.

Stuart Douglas, a 78-year-old accordionist from Cornwall, has played the instrument all his life and now plays with the Cober Valley Accordion Band as well as the Cornish Division of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. He said: “I learned to play the accordion as a boy living in a mining village in Fife and continued throughout my police career and beyond. These days I still play regularly and playing in the band also keeps my calendar full as we often perform in public. We regularly play at memory cafes, so we’ve seen the effect our music has on people with memory loss, and as older musicians ourselves, we have no doubt that continuing to play music into older age has played an important part in keeping of our brains healthy.”

The paper, ‘The relationship between playing musical instruments and cognitive trajectories: Analysis from a UK aging cohort’. was published in International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. This study was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) South West Peninsula Applied Research Collaboration (PenARC) and the NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre.

The PROTECT study is conducted entirely online and is open to new participants over the age of 40.