Forgetting where you put your keys or why you walked into a room is a common experience.

In our busy lives, these memory lapses are often dismissed as stress or fatigue.

But when does forgetfulness become a cause for concern? And how can you distinguish typical forgetfulness from signs of cognitive decline?

"It’s important to understand that some degree of forgetfulness is common – occasionally forgetting a person’s name or misplacing items isn’t typically cause for alarm," explains Dr Henk Swanepoel, lead neuropsychologist at Cygnet Health Care.

He says that the key difference lies in the impact on daily life. While occasional slips are normal, memory problems that interfere with daily routines warrant further investigation.

When forgetfulness begins to affect one's ability to function, it may signal a more serious issue requiring professional attention.

open image in gallery

“If someone begins missing appointments regularly, forgets conversations as a whole that they just had, or starts having difficulty managing tasks they previously handled with ease – like attending medical appointments, paying bills, following a recipe, or navigating familiar routes – those are warning signs that shouldn’t be ignored,” Dr Swanepoel says.

Victoria Lyons, a dementia specialist admiral nurse at Dementia UK, says friends and family often notice subtle changes before the affected person does themselves.

“I spoke to a family and the first sign when they realised that something was different was when their dad, who was a cyclist, went out and got lost while he was on a bike ride,” Ms Lyons says.

“That was the first sign when they realised actually something’s going on here, because their dad cycled every day so for him to get lost and to be phoning up saying ‘I don’t know where I am’ was a trigger that made them think ‘actually this is something outside of normal memory lapses or confusion’.”

The frequency of memory lapses could indicate something more serious, as a one-time lapse due to stress or poor sleep is “very different from a pattern of cognitive decline”, Dr Swanepoel says.

Ms Lyons encourages people to track any notable changes or patterns of memory loss in a notepad.

open image in gallery

“Write down any changes, and when and where they happen, because otherwise you’ll go to see your GP and suddenly won’t be able to remember how long this has been going on for and which things you’ve been noticing,” says the admiral nurse.

“That makes it harder for the GP because they haven’t got that full picture yet. So, it’s important to take a full picture to the GP, and to highlight the impact that it’s having on your day-to-day life.”

It is important not to downplay memory symptoms because it could be something that’s treatable, Ms Lyons says.

“It could be an indication that perhaps you’re not coping with things as well as you might like to.

“It’s about viewing our brains as an integral part of our bodies and looking after them really. Taking those steps to make sure that we’re protecting this valuable tool that we’ve got, that we just take for granted a little bit.”

Sometimes cognitive changes can also be caused by treatable conditions, such as a B12 deficiency.

“One of the common ones is that people with B12 deficiency aren’t aware of the impact that it’s having on them,” Ms Lyons says.

“We also sometimes see that somebody is maybe not using their brain as well as normal because of depression, as they’re not focused or remembering things because they’re not as engaged.

“In addition, for some people it could be about thyroid function. If your thyroid is not functioning properly, it can lead to confusion. Furthermore, memory issues or ‘brain fog’ could be to do with the menopause.”

If you are worried about memory problems, you can phone the admiral nurse helpline for advice, Ms Lyons says.

“And whilst we can’t make that diagnosis, what we can do is have a conversation with somebody and give them advice.

“But essentially that diagnosis process starts with your GP, and the GP may then refer you on to memory clinics and memory services.”

A GP will take the history and listen to the language that somebody uses to talk about the changes and the symptoms they’re experiencing, explains the admiral nurse.

“They would also do blood tests to rule out if there’s anything else going on because a dementia diagnosis is a process of elimination,” Ms Lyons says.

“Sometimes ECGs will also be conducted.

“Also, sometimes they do brain scans as part of a memory assessment.”

If you need advice or support on living with dementia, contact Dementia UK’s Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline on 0800 888 6678 or email helpline@dementiauk.org.

Read More