While it can be hard to manage age-related changes of any kind, it can feel extra tough when those changes impact your memory and cognition. But it’s especially important to pay attention to brain-related changes as you get older.
While all cognitive changes are not dementia, some are. Dr. Gregory Day, a behavioral neurologist and dementia specialist at Mayo Clinic in Florida, defines dementia as a “change in memory and thinking. So, something that’s different from before — and for me to consider it as dementia, it needs to interfere with daily life.”
Dementia is only expected to become more common in this country; recent research predicts 42% of American adults over 55 will have dementia in their lifetime.
By understanding the signs of the disease and getting an early diagnosis, individuals and caretakers can better plan and prepare for the future, and potentially make decisions about care and treatment.
Early diagnosis can also help folks potentially get access to treatments that can help slow the progression of certain forms of dementia, experts told HuffPost. (Dementia is an umbrella term that describes multiple forms of cognitive impairment, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common type.)
The early signs of dementia are important to know but can “run the gamut,” said Dr. Stephanie Nothelle, a geriatrician and an associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, but there tend to be a few that often present first.
1. Short-term memory loss.
“I think the thing that people often think about is short-term memory loss, and that really is common,” Nothelle said.
This isn’t the same thing as momentarily forgetting the word you want to use or a one-off absentminded moment, like forgetting to grab your hat before going out for a walk.
Instead, it’s something like “having a conversation with someone and then a couple hours later, not remembering the details of that conversation,” explained Nothelle.
Dr. Jori Fleisher, an associate professor of neurological sciences at Rush University in Chicago, said that it’s also common for folks with short-term memory loss to repeat themselves in conversations and ask “the same questions frequently.”
“A hard time holding on to things that they’ve learned recently. That’s a short-term memory issue,” Fleisher said.
According to Day, there are some real-world, practical issues he tends to look for as potential memory red flags.
“I’m looking for people who have made mistakes, maybe with medications, where they wouldn’t have before [such as forgetting to take it or taking a double dose], perhaps some difficulty keeping track of appointments and keeping the days straight, needing more reminders for that,” Day said.
This short-term memory loss could also look like missing appointments or showing up on the wrong day or having difficulty finding their way along a familiar route, Day added.
Some people are naturally more forgetful than others and have been that way all of their lives. That’s not worrisome. Instead, Day is concerned with “changes from before that are consistent or starting to become consistent, that are beginning to interfere with daily life.”
2. Trouble with the ‘planning part of your brain.’
It’s also common for people to experience trouble with “executive functioning,” which Nothelle describes as the “planning part of your brain.”
“So, if you have a complex task, [for example] you have to plan a dinner party and you’re having a hard time doing everything involved … there’s all these little logistics and things to keep track of when planning something like a dinner party,” she said.
You may have to remember your guest’s dietary restrictions, plan out a menu, shop for ingredients, cook, arrange serving dishes, clean, make cocktails and choose a playlist.
“If you’re not able to do that anymore, that can be a sign that there’s something going on,” Nothelle said.
3. Personality changes.
“Another way that I have seen it manifest is people will have changes in their mood or their personality,” Nothelle said.
Maybe a loved one who used to be very outgoing is now more shy or vice versa. Or maybe someone is more apathetic or, perhaps, more impulsive than they used to be. This isn’t normal aging or an older person just not having a filter.
“These are all just reflections of subtle changes in the brain,” Nothelle noted.
4. Consistent trouble finding the right word.
A common complaint and reason people seek medical attention is word-finding difficulty, Day said. “Occasional difficulty coming up with a name, fine,” said Day. It’s also normal to sometimes forget the name of a common object, he said.
“When it’s inconsistent, not a concern, but when this is an everyday thing and maybe even when it’s interrupting conversation, now that’s a sign of much more prominent word-finding difficulty that would warrant evaluation,” he said.
5. Susceptibility to financial scams.
“Something that we need to be really, really aware of, and unfortunately just gets more and more common, is susceptibility to financial scams,” said Fleisher.
“Patients with dementia are at increased risk, and scammers know that, so they tend to prey on older individuals in the middle of the afternoon,” added Day.
There is shame involved with falling for a scam, but scammers are getting smarter and sneakier, making it easier and easier to fall for the trick, noted Fleisher.
But, if you have a loved one who falls for one of these scams, it’s worth inquiring about their cognitive state.
Dementia is common, but there are things you can do to reduce your risk or slow the progression of the disease.
Healthy lifestyle habits can not only slow the progression of dementia but can also help prevent it.
For some people, genetics put them at higher risk of developing dementia, but “even in people where there is a genetic component, there’s good evidence to say that all of the following still make an impact, and maybe make an even bigger impact,” Fleisher said.
Really, folks should follow the advice from their doctors when it comes to maintaining a healthy body — these habits also help maintain a healthy brain, according to Day.
“The most important things that I think about … well, we should be screening for high blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar problems, and treating or addressing those problems when they exist,” Day said.
We should also prioritize a good night’s sleep, he said, and manage things like sleep apnea — “addressing that and treating that effectively can really improve brain health and brain function, and, I think, decrease the risk of dementia in the future,” Day said.
“And then there’s the day-to-day things, good brain housekeeping things, we all know we should be doing,” Day said. This includes exercising, eating a nutritious diet with plenty of fruits and veggies, limiting (or not drinking) alcohol and quitting smoking. It’s also helpful to spend time with other people, said Fleisher.
“It can sometimes seem daunting. If you’re reading a long list of things and you’re not doing any of them, you don’t have to start doing them all immediately,” Day said.
“Take that small step forward … introduce a 20-minute walk three times a week — you don’t have to start training for a marathon,” Day added.
“These are positive steps towards brain health, and if the goal is to reduce the future risk of dementia, I think each of those steps matters and can be helpful for that,” Day said.
While there isn’t a cure for dementia, these changes can help people who are diagnosed, Fleisher noted.
“We want to use everything at our disposal to slow down progression so people can live longer and live better and have better quality of life in that time,” Fleisher said. “There are countless examples of people living well with dementia. I think that stigma of getting this diagnosis and that being ‘the end,’ that is not where we are in 2025.”
People with dementia are living rich, full lives because they’re empowered by knowledge and helpful health care teams, Fleisher said.