According to CNN, scientists and researchers are working to figure out how music affects the brain. Using twin studies and focusing upon patients with dementia, researchers have noticed that music helps reduce cognitive decline, but are still unsure about how it’s done. Musicians with a daily practice are able to keep their cognitive abilities longer, it seems, and the earlier one starts playing an instrument, the more beneficial it will be. People who begin playing an instrument by age 7 show an increase in the ability to ward off problems like dementia and picking up the instrument in old age helps. Read more here: Playing for time: Can music stave off dementia?