You’ve been commuting home from work along the same route for five years. But recently, while stopped at a traffic light, you find yourself struggling to remember whether to turn left or right.
Such moments make you wonder: are memory lapses a normal occurrence, a sign of declining cognitive function, or the early stages of dementia?
Some Forgetfulness is Normal
When this happens repeatedly, it’s easy to think that age-related decline in our brains is to blame. Just like the rest of our bodies, brain cells “shrink” as we get older. They maintain fewer connections with other neurons and store fewer chemicals necessary for sending messages to other neurons.
However, not all memory lapses are linked to aging. In many cases, the reasons are more trivial, such as fatigue, anxiety, or distraction.
Memory experts Oliver Baumann and Cindy Jones from Bond University (Australia) assert that a certain level of forgetfulness is perfectly normal.
Our memory system is designed in such a way that some forgetting is a completely natural phenomenon. It’s not a flaw but rather a feature. Retaining a vast array of information can exhaust our metabolism, and an overload of information can slow down or hinder the retrieval of memories from the depths of our minds.
Unfortunately, we don’t always get to decide what’s important to remember. Our brains do that for us. Typically, they prioritize social information (political news, the latest gossip) while easily discarding abstract information (like numbers).
Memory becomes a problem when lapses start to interfere with everyday life.
If you can’t remember where to turn on the road, that’s not a big deal. However, if you forget why you’re driving, where you need to go, or even how to drive, that’s not normal. These are signs of something serious that warrants further examination, according to ScienceAlert.
Mild Cognitive Impairment
The state between age-related memory loss and more serious memory loss is defined as mild cognitive impairment. The degree of impairment can remain stable, improve, or worsen.
This condition indicates an increased risk of future neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia. Each year, about 10-15 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment develop .
Those on this transitional threshold may gradually lose the ability to handle everyday tasks. The situation can worsen over time. The process of memory loss can sometimes be accompanied by difficulties with speech, thinking, and decision-making. Such a diagnosis is a reason to consult a specialist.
Early Marker of Alzheimer’s
Memory issues that cause navigation problems are considered an early marker of – the most common type of dementia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) traditionally shows that the areas of the brain crucial for recalling our spatial environment are the first to suffer from this degenerative disease.
Thus, increasingly frequent memory lapses may serve as a warning sign of more pronounced difficulties in the future.
Experts emphasize that if memory lapses are persistent, it’s essential to seek help from a doctor. Early detection of the problem will enable specialists to more effectively address the disorder.
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