Is it Normal Memory Loss or Early Dementia?

Experts say that mild memory loss is perfectly normal — especially as we age. That’s right, if you sometimes forget simple things, you’re not necessarily developing Alzheimer’s disease. There are many people walking around just like you who occasionally misplace their keys, have that deer-in-headlights look as they search for their cars in parking lots, and can’t recall the name of one new person they met at their last office party.

Memory is the ability to normally recall the facts and events of our lives, and this takes place in three stages:

Stage 1: Encoding. This is when a person takes information in.

Stage 2: Consolidation. This is when the brain takes the information it encodes and processes it so that it gets stored in certain areas of the brain.

Stage 3: Retrieval. When a person recalls stored information in the brain.

The difference between normal memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease can be puzzling; the kind of memory that is affected in day-to-day situations is also the kind affected in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Test your knowledge between Normal Memory Loss and Early Dementia with this quiz offered by AARP .

If you have questions about your loved one’s memory loss, we can help!