It might be that musical minds are immune to cognitive decline

We’ve known for centuries that music is good for mental health is so many different ways. But can having a musical mind provide some inoculation against cognitive decline? Maybe.

New research from Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, looked age, general memory, and the special memory centres we have for music.

The data came from studying participants aged 20-80 and their ability to remember musical themes under several different circumstances. They found that there was no difference in the age groups when it came to identifying those themes, regardless of how familiar or unfamiliar they were.

This seems to reinforce the point that certain areas of our brain come hardwired for music and may be more resilient to age than normal memory loss. Even though some of the participants had normal age-related forgetfulness, their musical memories were robust and strong.

Here’s another interesting bit: These results applied to people even if they didn’t play a musical instrument. All they had to do was be into music for this effect to manifest.

More research is needed, but this does seem to indicate that the more you engage with music–any kind of music under any kind of circumstances–could be a way to keep sharp as we grow older. The benefits may even increase if you expose yourself to different types of music.

Listen to music daily. Give your brain a workout. Your older self will thank you.