Topic: Seniors and Mental Health: Old Songs
Date/Time: September 6th, 2022, 9.30 am-10.30 am
Speaker: Ms. Lee Li Li (PhD candidate in Gerontology Medical Science and Consultant Psychologist)

Leisure activities that older adults are often exposed to in their daily lives, such as old songs, can improve mood, mental health, memory and cognition. Each of their own old songs are taken from the era of their birth, but also filled with a thick past. Old people are particularly impressed by the love songs they hear in their youth. Therefore, old songs can not only remind the elderly of the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence, but also help reduce the spread of depression and dementia.

Foreign research reports show that old songs are helpful in adjusting emotions and nourishing brain cells. When stress increases, hormones secreted by the brain, such as Cortisol and Adrenaline, increase. If secretin levels are above that level, it can cause brain cell damage and memory loss. So old people need to learn to relax. By relaxing, these two secretins drop, causing sugar delivery to the brain to drop, slowing the heart rate and bringing a feeling of comfort and relaxation.



Old Songs and Senior's Mental Health



1. Social function

• Older people can activate their brain cells through reminiscence and nostalgia.
• We should not discourage older people from remembering things, even if they involve negative emotions such as sadness, complaint, or anger. Instead, their loved ones should be their listeners. Older people share their past over and over again, which may be troubling to the listener, but they are also releasing past feelings.
• When an older person shares a sad or angry story, the listener should learn the following three steps:
  i. Look them in the eye and let them feel that you care, understand, and respect them
  ii. Make soothing gestures with their face, hands and shoulders silently
  iii. Help them organize their shared conversation and speak their mind

2. Social function

• Older people talk about old songs together to help socialize and open up about life.
• There may be a gap between the younger generation and the older generation, but we can use old songs to start a conversation.

3. Relaxation and joy

• Listen to cheerful old songs to relax your mind.

4. Release negative emotions

• Do not stop seniors from releasing their negative emotions.

3 Don'ts

• Listening to old songs for more than three hours a day is not recommended.
• Don't let the younger generation (under 12 years old) listen to old songs together, because it will affect the children's thinking and mental growth
• Don't listen to old songs aimlessly.

Do's

• Oldies Book Club: Turn songs into orderly discussions
• Knows the lyrics
• Thinking
• Share your experience that is similar to the lyrics
• Inspired by the songs