Singing project helping people with dementia

A group singing project in Bristol is helping people with dementia to deal with the condition.

Claire Cottle, 54, has been volunteering for the Alzheimer's Society for 18 months, and says that getting older people together to sing and socialise brings real joy to their lives, the Bristol Evening Post reports.

Ms Cottle, a former project manager, helps with the administration of the group and joins in the singing and activities, and she was struck by the good work the group does as soon as she made her first visit.

She told the publication: "Watching people you can see how those with dementia remember all the songs and sing really well.

"You can see happiness on everyone's faces and I think that is what got to me when I first went along, and the relief of some of the carers."

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine published a study earlier this summer that revealed how conveying information in a musical context can help people with dementia to remember it.

Read more about Barchester's dementia care homes.