Calming music

My tastes in music have changed slightly these days, but while I still like classic music, I now find, that I also like things like Freddie Mercury and Queen,, along with Rick Wakeman, and many others that would have been classed as rock or heavy metal.

Although these have been around a long time, it was not my sort of taste, which seems very strange

However, I have noticed that although I loved to listen to classical music during the night if I wake from a graphic nightmare,  I have had to remove some music for my I pod player,  because it was causing more problems when I was asleep.

My wife thought it could have been changed in the style or speed of the music, but sometimes it sent me into another nightmare.

My tastes in food has changed quite a lot, something that I grind very odd

Before and after we were married,  I always liked British food and never touched anything like a curry, whether Chinese,  Indian or anything else.

However these days, I love all types of curry, and what is more, the hotter they are, and the spicier, they are the better. I could eat them all day.

The last time we flew to Turkey we were given lunch going out, and breakfast coming back,  but somehow these got mixed up, and I ended up with a Thia curry for Breakfast? 

I confess that this was novel but really enjoyed it. It was not a normal breakfast but it was very nice.

But I simply don't understand how tastes change like this, as it simply does not make any sense at all.

I now understand how carers get upset, when the person that they are caring for, refuses to eat the same foodstuffs,  that they have eaten for many years. 

Obviously, something has changed dramatically inside the brain to cause this, but I dont know what.

My coordination has changed quite a lot too, and this causes many problems, so much so that many hobbies have been stopped.
Life can be stressful so it’s important to find ways of keeping calm and relaxed, classical music is one way but be careful to listen to the right music and stay clam during the day and night when you are struggling to sleep properly 

Interesting post about music and dementia

 

Classical music can help slow down the onset of dementia say researchers after discovering Mozart excerpts enhanced gene activity in patients

• Research saw patients listen to Mozart's violin concert No 3 for 20 minutes
• The 'musically-experienced' people had enhanced gene activity, it found 
• Music also affected risk gene synuclein-alpha, connected to Parkinson's

Classical music can help slow down the onset of dementia, new research has found.

Scientists discovered that patients who listened to experts of Mozart had enhanced gene activity in the 

brain in areas including memory and learning.

Meanwhile, the music also affected the activity of a risk gene connected to Parkinson's disease.

The Finnish researchers found the changed activity was only present in 'musically-experienced' patients, who listened to music regularly, suggesting the importance of familiarity with music.

For the study, participants were asked to listen to Mozart's violin concert No 3, G-major, K.216, a piece that lasts 20 minutes. The experiment was carried out on both musically experienced and inexperienced participants.

...

+2

The research involved participants listening to Mozart (pictured) for 20 minutes

The study showed that genes were enhanced in those deemed 'musically experienced' in areas such as dopamine secretion, which is when a neurohormone is released in the brain, synaptic neurotransmission, which is how neurons receive information, and learning and memory.

Meanwhile, the music appeared to down-regulate genes associated with neuro-degeneration, which is the progressive loss of the structure or function of neurons.

The researchers said several of the up-regulated genes were ones which are responsible for song learning and singing in songbirds.

This suggests a common evolutionary background of sound perception across different species, they said.

One of the most affected genes in this area was synuclein-alpha (SNCA), which is also a known risk gene for Parkinson's disease. 

Study leader Doctor Irma Jarvela, of Helsinki University, said: 'The up-regulation of several genes that are known to be responsible for song learning and singing in songbirds suggest a shared evolutionary background of sound perception between vocalizing birds and humans.'

He added: 'The effect was only detectable in musically experienced participants, suggesting the importance of familiarity and experience in mediating music-induced effects.'

Dr Jarvela added that the findingscould give give further insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying music therapy.

The effects of this are still largely unknown.

Violent nightmares

 Since before just before I was formally diagnosed as having Early-onset Lewy Body Dementia, I have struggled with very bad dreams and in some cases nightmares.

These things have little or no direct link to normal life that I know of, and they are very frightening, and sometimes difficult to break free from.

I remember the first one I had which I told my consultant about when I saw her at the clinic.
It was at this point that I learned that these were all caused by my illness and not medication of any kind.

 On some occasions, I have got out of bed and gone to a different room simply to break the cycle or at least try to.

I say that because when we wake up from these horrors as I call them, its difficult to decide the difference between the nightmare and reality. I have at times resorted to doing things like hitting the wall so that I know I am awake, but then that leads to sore hands the next morning.

Sometimes after doing something like watching television for half an hour, I have returned to bed only to find the whole process start again from the point it stopped. That is also very sad as I get out of bed feeling very tired and stressed.

When I have these really bad horrors during the night, I can usually remember the whole thing in great detail for at least two days afterward, and I have written about these before, as a way of trying to find out what is causing it all to happen.

I often wonder why it is people having these don't end up having a heart attack as they are so bad, perhaps they do and it's not looked into as to why it happened.

I was once given medication, which was supposed to control it all, but found it got so bad that this had to be stopped altogether, because I simply could not wake up, and in the end tried to climb out of a bedroom window to get away from this bad horror. Luckily for me, the windows were locked, because I was in a hotel and our room was on the third floor.

However, I understand that people who have this form of dementia struggle with some medications, so they are only used as short trials.

I recently had a very bad night which shook me rigid afterward when I looked back at it.

It had been a very bad night and I can remember getting out of bed on two or three occasions, and sat in the room next door until I felt safe to return to bed. However each time I returned to bed the same horror started all over again.

Eventually, I did wake up and went to have a cup of tea, at which point it dawned on me, that I had never actually left the bed during the night, I had only dreamt I had, which accounted for the nightmares going on so long.

I was then so shocked about this that the next night, I did not want to go to bed, because I kept thinking, what if I thought I had woken up and had gone to the toilet?  The embarrassment would have been too much for me.  So these days I live in fear of these nights, and what may or may not happen.

On some occasions I do get up and go downstairs to write things for my blog, just to try to concentrate on something for a while, but I am nervous about waking someone else up, so I don't do it every night.

 Like many people who are living with Parkinson's/ Lewy Body dementia problems, I suffer from nightly horrors and very graphic nightmares which can be very stressful

Last year my consultant put me on a new drug, which it was hoped would help cut down these horrors, and for a while, it worked, but over the last few weeks, it has started all over again.

 These started a few years ago when I was diagnosed as having a form of Lewy Body Dementia / Parkinsonism.  

The problem is that you act these graphic nightmares out, and can remember them in great detail during the next day, something which is quite frightening. 

Nurses in hospitals etc are told to speak quietly and touch the person going through these, in the hope of bringing them out of this, but as I pointed out to graduate nurses while giving a presentation last year, this can be highly dangerous to anyone trying to help.

My wife has found out at times, that is hazardous, because she can become part of the nightmare, and then get hurt in the process, and she has a good idea what it's like, as she has become part of this when she gets too close. 

My wife tried this one night and ended up with a nasty black eye and bruises after one nightly horror show, and that was upsetting for me, as well as for her.

Having totally demolished two bedside lights and other things, there is now nothing important next to my side of the bed.

After seeing the damage after a bad night, it brings you down to earth a little 

But I could describe everything in great detail, when I wake up,  which is not nice. 

I understand that  I lash out and kick out, once these things start. 

There seems to be no reason for these, as many of them bare no links to reality, and that makes life hard to work out.
Last year my consultant gave me a trial of some medication, in the hope that it would help, which it did for a while then the horrors started all over again a few weeks ago.

After a nightmare, if I am lucky enough to wake up on my own, I usually get up, and either sit in the bathroom or go downstairs for a while, if I am not feeling wobbly. 

However sometimes,  these things start off all over again from where they had stopped, and that is terrifying 

I think part of the problem is that when I  wake up, I cannot tell the difference between the nightmare or reality, and it seems to take a while to settle down.

A few years ago after a flood-damaged our home we were moved into a small flat, and one night I had the worst night I had ever had. 

I was convinced that I had woken up from a nightmare and had gone into the sitting room, had a cup of tea, and had then gone to the toilet. This happened three times, then I eventually woke up and realized that it was all part of the nightmare. 

My wife said I woke up in a total  panic 

Although there was no damage at all, this shook me rigid because I was convinced that I had been up three times, and had gone to the toilet. 

I confess that I am absolutely terrified of ever being sent into a hospital, because I have no control over what happens during these nights, and the last thing I want is to be charged with assaulting a nurse or anyone else, while I am going through a night like this. 

Although things are not as bad as they used to be, it's still difficult to understand. 

I often wake up in the morning feeling very tired and sometimes ache, I guess because of the lashing out. 

While it's difficult for me it must be worse for my wife, because it means that she must keep her distance while trying to wake me up 

When this all started, I thought that I was going mad,  but I understand that it's all part of the Lewy Body Dementia. 

Perhaps it also accounts for my deep sleeping during the day.