A new study from West Virginia University, in Morgantown, reveals that listening to music and practicing meditation may help improve memory function for those in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers asked 60 adults experiencing subjective cognitive decline (SCD), a common predictor of Alzheimer’s, to engage in kirtan kriya musical meditation or listen to other music for 12 minutes a day for three months, and then consider continuing for an additional three months. Scientists measured the memory and cognitive function of the 53 participants that completed the six-month study and found significant improvements in both measurements at the three-month mark. At six months, the subjects in both groups had maintained or improved upon their initial results.

This article appears in the September 2017 issue of Natural Awakenings.