Science has long praised music for mind health and numerous studies have proved the link between music and cognitive performance.
One such study by The University of California, Irvine, showed that 10 minutes of listening to a Mozart piano sonata raised the measurable lQ of college students by up to 9 points.
Anecdotally, we know that music can improve mood, brighten your day and in many cases, even bring cognisance back to people in otherwise non-responsive states.
Nicc Johnson, founder of Muru Music Health Mindful Music Platform, saw this firsthand, with his grandmother. She often didn’t recognise her own family anymore, however would burst into song when her favourite artist Andre Rieu was played.
“The music helped her come back from her fog and recognise her family again,” he recalls. “Muru Music Health was born from this. It began as a passion project to create a music platform my parents could actually use. They’ve always been massive music fans, but in recent years have stopped listening, because they struggle with all the new technologies. Having lost my grandmother to Alzheimer’s, and seen the impact music made for her, I wanted to make sure there is an easy to use platform to help stimulate mind activity and ward off brain ageing for everyone.”
Muru Music Health is a research-based mindful music listening platform that aims to help listeners relax, relive positive memories and/or become active while stimulating the brain.
“Twenty two percent of the global population is over the age of 60, and every three seconds someone is diagnosed with dementia,” reveals Nicc. “While there is no cure for ageing or cognitive decline, research has shown listening to music can reduce anxiety, depression, blood pressure and pain, as well as improve sleep quality, mood, memory, increase cognitive function, enhance learning and concentration, and slow down the effects of brain ageing.
“When it comes to music, whether we’re listening or participating, the human brain can separate the complex rhythm, melody and emotion of a song in a split second. It can also instantly recognise a song it’s heard before and decide whether we like it or not.
“For people living with Alzheimer’s, therapists and neurologists have found that when a person listens to familiar songs from their youth, it can reduce the level of brain fog and confusion and in some cases enable more effective communication.”
How Muru Music Health Works
There’s nothing to download, upload or fiddle about with. It’s so simple that even the least tech savvy person can use it. It relies on Artificial Intelligence to personalise your playlist, with the aim of slowing the effects of brain ageing via the power of music.
Music Health has partnered with Universal Music Australia, which has provided an endless array of tunes from artists across all genres. If you’re a fan of Missy Higgins, you can enter your fave Missy song into the site and it will compile a playlist around that genre. Say you’re more into country. You may wish to enter Lee Kernaghan and enjoy the playlist of country tunes the website then creates for you. The A.I will take into account where you grew up, how old you are, what your native language is, and more – to find the right music from your past. These are then customised into three playlists: Relax, Memory and Energise, which gives you a truly personalised experience to help boost your brainpower and your mood.
Who is Muru Music Health For?
Currently, the Music Health-Universal collaboration is directing 5000 donated downloads to retirement village residents at Stockland and other aged care facilities around Australia. The intention is to use music to support those suffering dementia related illnesses. However, it is available to anyone who wishes to use it at any time! CBM
For more information visit: www.murumusichealth.com
