November 26, 2025
Here’s an easy daily habit that may help to keep the brain sharp in old age: Listen to music. A new study found that older adults who consistently listened to music reduced their risk of developing dementia by nearly 40 percent.
The study, from researchers at Monash University in Australia, used data from more than 10,800 relatively healthy men and women aged 70 and older who were enrolled in a long-running study of aging and health. None had Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia at the start of the study period. Participants underwent annual medical exams and regular tests of thinking and memory skills. They were followed for about a decade.
The researchers found that study participants who said they listened to music on most days had a 39 percent lower risk of developing dementia than their peers who “never,” “rarely” or only “sometimes” listened to music. They also had a 17 percent lower incidence of general cognitive decline, as well as higher scores on tests of thinking and memory skills, including episodic memory, or the ability to recall everyday events.
Regularly playing a musical instrument, such as a piano or guitar, also appeared to have benefits for the brain. Those who played a musical instrument had a 33 percent reduced risk of dementia and a 22 percent reduced risk of cognitive impairment.
“Evidence suggests that brain aging is not just based on age and genetics but can be influenced by one’s own environmental and lifestyle choices,” said Joanne Ryan, the study’s senior author and head of the Biological Neuropsychiatry and Dementia research unit in Monash’s School of Public Health. “Our study suggests that lifestyle-based interventions, such as listening to and/or playing music can promote cognitive health.”
The authors note that this was an observational study and cannot prove cause and effect. Many factors determine who ultimately develops Alzheimer’s disease. But the findings, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, add to growing evidence that music is good for the brain.
Music activates various parts of the brain, including areas that process emotions and those involved in imagination. Listening to songs from your youth can transport you back to those times, boosting your mood and easing stress.
Other studies have found that exposure to music throughout life, either through playing an instrument or singing with a group, can help to build connections between brain cells. Older adults who continue to play music appear to have better executive function, which helps you to complete tasks and to suppress inappropriate behaviors. Current and former musicians tend to do better on tests of language, attention and processing speed compared with their peers who have never played music.
Music may also have benefits for those who already have serious memory problems. Nursing home residents with dementia who listened to music they enjoyed, often songs from their distant past, had fewer signs of agitation and aggression than residents who were not exposed to music.
By diminishing challenging behaviors, music can also help to ease the burden for caregivers. If you’re caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, play favorite music or songs from their childhood or young adult years, and have them clap or sing along. Listening to those tunes, as this study suggests, may also help to keep your brain in good working order.
By ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by Eric Schmidt, Ph.D., Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.
Source: Emma Jaffa; Zimu Wu; Alice Owen; et al: “What Is the Association Between Music‐Related Leisure Activities and Dementia Risk? A Cohort Study.” International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, October 2025.
