Live Music Now explains why music can play a valuable role in the campaign to combat loneliness among older people.
Live Music Now musicians deliver thousands of performances for older people each year, all around the UK. These people usually tell us that they feel uplifted and happier, and their carers often notice the effects lasting for many days afterwards, even in the cases of people who have quite advanced dementia. It is important work, and very moving to see it taking place. But we are regularly witnessing a deep societal problem, which urgently needs to be addressed: chronic loneliness.
How many people are affected?
Loneliness is subjective, and can come and go. It can affect people living alone, or those surrounded by other people. We all feel lonely sometimes, but when this feeling persists over a long time it can become ‘chronic’. And it is clear that an increasing number of people are experiencing this.
There are currently more than 10 million people over 65, and this number is predicted to double by 2050. A study of loneliness in older Britons published in 2012 found that more than a fifth felt lonely all the time, and a quarter became more lonely over five years.
Live Music Now musicians deliver thousands of performances for older people each year, all around the UK. These people usually tell us that they feel uplifted and happier, and their carers often notice the effects lasting for many days afterwards, even in the cases of people who have quite advanced dementia. It is important work, and very moving to see it taking place. But we are regularly witnessing a deep societal problem, which urgently needs to be addressed: chronic loneliness.
How many people are affected?
Loneliness is subjective, and can come and go. It can affect people living alone, or those surrounded by other people. We all feel lonely sometimes, but when this feeling persists over a long time it can become ‘chronic’. And it is clear that an increasing number of people are experiencing this.
There are currently more than 10 million people over 65, and this number is predicted to double by 2050. A study of loneliness in older Britons published in 2012 found that more than a fifth felt lonely all the time, and a quarter became more lonely over five years.
More than a third (39%) of people living alone, with dementia, said they feel lonely... Keep reading on Live Music Now