Memory, Forgetfulness, and Aging: What's Normal and What's ...

As you age, you may wonder what is and is not normal memory loss. ... Making poor judgments and decisions a lot of the time. Normal aging. Skiptomaincontent The.govmeansit’sofficial. Federalgovernmentwebsitesoftenendin.govor.mil.Beforesharingsensitiveinformation,makesureyou’reonafederalgovernmentsite. Thesiteissecure. The https:// ensuresthatyouareconnectingtotheofficialwebsiteandthatanyinformationyouprovideisencryptedandtransmittedsecurely. Breadcrumb Home HealthInformation Memory,Forgetfulness,andAging:What'sNormalandWhat'sNot? CognitiveHealth Memory,Forgetfulness,andAging:What'sNormalandWhat'sNot? Manyolderadultsworryabouttheirmemoryandotherthinkingabilities.Forexample,theymightbeconcernedabouttakinglongerthanbeforetolearnnewthings,ortheymaysometimesforgettopayabill.Thesechangesareusuallysignsofmildforgetfulness—oftenanormalpartofaging—notseriousmemoryproblems. What'snormalforgetfulnessandwhat'snot? What'sthedifferencebetweennormal,age-relatedforgetfulnessandaseriousmemoryproblem?It'snormaltoforgetthingsonceinawhileasweage,butseriousmemoryproblemsmakeithardtodoeverydaythingslikedriving,usingthephone,andfindingyourwayhome. Talkwithyourdoctortodeterminewhethermemoryandothercognitiveproblems,suchastheabilitytoclearlythinkandlearn,arenormalandwhatmaybecausingthem. Signsthatitmightbetimetotalktoadoctorinclude: Askingthesamequestionsoverandoveragain Gettinglostinplacesapersonknowswell Havingtroublefollowingrecipesordirections Becomingmoreconfusedabouttime,people,andplaces Nottakingcareofoneself—eatingpoorly,notbathing,orbehavingunsafely Tipsfordealingwithforgetfulness Peoplewithsomeforgetfulnesscanuseavarietyoftechniquesthatmayhelpthemstayhealthyanddealwithchangesintheirmemoryandmentalskills.Herearesometips: Learnanewskill. Followadailyroutine. Plantasks,maketo-dolists,andusememorytoolssuchascalendarsandnotes. Putyourwalletorpurse,keys,phone,andglassesinthesameplaceeachday. Stayinvolvedinactivitiesthatcanhelpboththemindandbody. Volunteerinyourcommunity,ataschool,oratyourplaceofworship.* Spendtimewithfriendsandfamily.* Getenoughsleep,generallyseventoeighthourseachnight. Exerciseandeatwell. Preventorcontrolhighbloodpressure. Don'tdrinkalotofalcohol. Gethelpifyoufeeldepressedforweeksatatime. Mildcognitiveimpairment Someolderadultshaveaconditioncalledmildcognitiveimpairment,orMCI,meaningtheyhavemorememoryorotherthinkingproblemsthanotherpeopletheirage.PeoplewithMCIcanusuallytakecareofthemselvesanddotheirnormalactivities.MCImaybeanearlysignofAlzheimer'sdisease,butnoteveryonewithMCIwilldevelopAlzheimer's. SignsofMCIinclude: Losingthingsoften Forgettingtogotoimportanteventsorappointments Havingmoretroublecomingupwithdesiredwordsthanotherpeopleofthesameage IfyouhaveMCI,visityourdoctoreverysixto12monthstotrackchangesinmemoryandotherthinkingskillsovertime.Theremaybehabitsandbehaviorsyoucanchangeandactivitiesyoucandotohelpyoumaintainmemoryandthinkingskills. Dementiaandaging Readandsharethisinfographic tolearnwhetherforgetfulnessisanormalpartofaging. Dementiaisnotanormalpartofaging.Itincludesthelossofcognitivefunctioning—thinking,remembering,learning,andreasoning—andbehavioralabilitiestotheextentthatitinterfereswithaperson'squalityoflifeandactivities.Memoryloss,thoughcommon,isnottheonlysignofdementia.Peoplewithdementiamayalsohaveproblemswithlanguageskills,visualperception,orpayingattention.Somepeoplehavepersonalitychanges. Whiletherearedifferentformsofdementia,Alzheimer'sdiseaseisthemostcommonforminpeopleoverage65.ThechartbelowexplainssomedifferencesbetweennormalsignsofagingandAlzheimer's. DifferencesbetweennormalagingandAlzheimer'sdisease Normalaging Alzheimer'sdisease Makingabaddecisiononceinawhile Makingpoorjudgmentsanddecisionsalotofthetime Missingamonthlypayment Problemstakingcareofmonthlybills Forgettingwhichdayitisandrememberingitlater Losingtrackofthedateortimeofyear Sometimesforgettingwhichwordtouse Troublehavingaconversation Losingthingsfromtimetotime Misplacingthingsoftenandbeingunabletofindthem Whentovisitthedoctorformemoryloss Ifyou,afamilymember,orfriendhasproblemsrememberingrecenteventsorthinkingclearly,talkwithadoctor.Heorshemaysuggestathoroughcheckuptoseewhatmightbecausingthesymptoms.Youmayalsowishtotalkwithyourdoctoraboutopportunitiestoparticipateinresearchoncognitivehealthandaging. Atyourdoctorvisit,heorshecanperformtestsandassessments,whichmayincludeabrainscan,tohelpdeterminethesourceofmemoryproblems.Yourdoctormayalsorecommendyouseeaneurologist,adoctorwhospecializesintreatingdiseasesofthebrainandnervoussystem. Memoryandotherthinkingproblemshavemanypossiblecauses,includingdepression,aninfection,ormedicationsideeffects.Sometimes,theproblemcanbetreated,andcognitionimproves.Othertimes,theproblemisabraindisorder,suchasAlzheimer'sdisease,whichcannotbereversed. Findingthecauseoftheproblemsisimportantfordeterminingthebestcourseofaction.Onceyouknowthecause,youcanmaketherighttreatmentplan.Peoplewithmemoryproblemsshouldmakeafollow-upappointmenttochecktheirmemoryeverysixto12months.Theycanaskafamilymember,friend,orthedoctor'sofficetoremindthemifthey'reworriedthey'llforget. LearnmoreaboutcognitivehealthandAlzheimer'sandrelateddementias. Anoteaboutunproventreatments Somepeoplearetemptedbyuntriedorunproven"cures"thatclaimtomakethebrainsharperorpreventdementia.Becautiousofpills,supplements,braintrainingcomputergames,orotherproductsthatpromisetoimprovememoryorpreventbraindisorders.Thesemightbeunsafe,awasteofmoney,orboth.Theymighteveninterferewithothermedicaltreatments.CurrentlythereisnodrugortreatmentthatpreventsAlzheimer'sorrelateddementias. However,therearecurrentlyseveraldrugsavailablebyprescriptiontosafelytreatthesymptomsofearlyandmid-stageAlzheimer's.Ifyouhavebeendiagnosedwithdementia,yourdoctormaysuggestthatyoutakeoneofthem. Howtoprotectyourselfandothersfromunproventreatments: Bewareiftheproductclaimseemstoopromisingandifitconflictswithwhatyou’veheardfromyourhealthcareprovider. Questionanyproductthatclaimstobea“scientificbreakthrough.”Companiesmarketingtheseproductsoftentakeadvantageofpeoplewhentheyaremostvulnerableandlookingforamiraclecure. Checkwithyourdoctororhealthcareprofessionalbeforebuyinganyproduct,includingthoselabeledasdietarysupplements,thatpromisestoimproveyourmemoryorpreventdementia. ReportanyproductsorsupplementsbeingadvertisedasatreatmentforAlzheimer'sorotherdiseasesontheU.S.FoodandDrugAdministration’swebsite. ReadaboutthistopicinSpanish.Leasobreestetemaenespañol. Signupforemailupdates ReceiveweeklytipsandresourcesonAlzheimer'sdiseaseandrelateddementiasfromNIA'sAlzheimers.gov EmailAddress Formoreinformationaboutmemorylossandforgetfulness NIAAlzheimer’sandrelatedDementiasEducationandReferral(ADEAR)Center 800-438-4380 [email protected] www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers TheNIAADEARCenteroffersinformationandfreeprintpublicationsaboutAlzheimer’sandrelateddementiasforfamilies,caregivers,andhealthprofessionals.ADEARCenterstaffanswertelephone,email,andwrittenrequestsandmakereferralstolocalandnationalresources. Alzheimers.gov www.alzheimers.gov ExploretheAlzheimers.govportalforinformationandresourcesonAlzheimer’sandrelateddementiasfromacrossthefederalgovernment. NationalInstituteofNeurologicalDisordersandStroke(NINDS) 800-352-9424 [email protected] www.ninds.nih.gov Alzheimer'sAssociation 800-272-3900  866-403-3073(TTY) [email protected] www.alz.org Alzheimer’sFoundationofAmerica 866-232-8484 [email protected] www.alzfdn.org ThiscontentisprovidedbytheNIHNationalInstituteonAging(NIA).NIAscientistsandotherexpertsreviewthiscontenttoensureitisaccurateanduptodate. Contentreviewed:October21,2020 Articles ParticipatinginActivitiesYouEnjoyAsYouAge QuittingSmokingforOlderAdults AdvanceCarePlanning GettingYourAffairsinOrder LatestNews NIAwelcomesDr.AmyS.Kelleyasdeputydirector 09/12/2022 RelatedArticles HowtheAgingBrainAffectsThinking WhatDoWeKnowAboutDietandPreventionofAlzheimer'sDisease? 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