Memory, dementia | Do you usually forget things? These are the danger signs of early dementia

Do you have a tendency to forget things before, jokingly or with fear in your voice, you say “I’m going to have dementia early”?

You are hardly alone in that. Names, keys, appointments, cleaning the washing machine, putting shoes in the shoe rack, buying leftovers for Friday’s taco … The question is almost more about what no be forgotten, instead of what we remember.

– We have limited capacity in short-term memory and it is much about the brain being bad at multitasking and multitasking, says brain researcher Ole Petter Hjelle, who this week has dementia as a topic in his podcast, “Brain Strong”.

An example of this is when you stare at your cell phone or intensely watch a television show, and you can’t really pick up anything that is being said in the room.

– People with little time or a lot of balls in the air will often have more trouble remembering individual things. That stress can help you forget more, he says.

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In the family, forgetting things can often be a headache, such as forgetting to put them in the dishwasher, putting dirty clothes everywhere but in the laundry basket, taking out the pizza before it burns, and maybe even forgetting. a birthday.

– It’s something else and fortunately far from dementia, says Hjelle.

– We more easily remember what is important to us and what motivates us to remember, so that is the explanation why someone can receive a message many times and still forget it. It’s simply because there are other messages in the brain that it’s more important to prioritize, says Hjelle, and gives an example that many can recognize:

– You can ask your children if they want refreshments later and then don’t forget that they are going to get refreshments, but then you can ask them to clean the room, but they forget ASAP.

– Right now we are a bit forgetful

The crown crisis has led to a state of emergency that has hardly improved our memory, says aging researcher Linda Hildegard Bergersen.

– We are in a rush now in the middle of the crown times, because we are on screen a lot, many may not be able to complete the physical activity they need and many have reported poor sleep.

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– So right now we are a bit forgetful, because the pandemic has been ruined and we have many concerns. So the effect we see now is not strange at all, he notes.

Forgetfulness: signs of early dementia?

Going insane is something few, if any, want, but is it really true that forgetting too much can also indicate an increased risk of dementia?

Hjelle points out that dementia is about much more than forgetting where you left your mobile phone or forgetting an appointment.

– Dementia is a disease that many fear because it can really affect the level of functioning in everyday life, for example, not remembering where you are, the name of the people around you; As a child and spouse, how do you dress and what did you do yesterday or will do today, says brain researcher Hjelle.

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• You forget things that happened recently and you don’t remember them, but you remember things that happened a long time ago.

• Has difficulty with daily tasks, such as getting dressed, logging into the online bank.

• Has trouble remembering time and place, such as where it is and why it is there.

• You experience mood swings and frustration.

• Has difficulty with attention and concentration.

• You don’t recognize people, like your children, spouse, and colleagues.

Those who struggle with the first signs of dementia experience this as a common problem:

You may remember what happened earlier in life, but you cannot remember what you did yesterday.

– It’s a typical danger sign, but it is clear that it can also be very reminiscent of oblivion, says age researcher Linda Hildegard.

She exemplifies: A typical situation in which many will recognize themselves is when they feel that they have something on their tongue, they try to invent a name, but it does not occur to them.

– Then it can appear during the day or the next day. Then there is no danger, says the Bergersen age researcher and continues:

– The difference for the patient with dementia is that they do not have it again.

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However, brain researcher Ole Petter Hjelle emphasizes that the vast majority who fear dementia are not necessarily the patients themselves. Family members may be the ones who make contact because they notice that something is different from what it has been.

So it is not just the conversations with the patient, but various tests and brain scans that help make the diagnosis.

Clear warning sign

In most cases, dementia can start around the age of 70, but it can also occur in the 50s if it has a hereditary burden.

– If you get it early, there’s a chance you haven’t taken care of yourself, but you’ve lived a life where you burn the light at both ends, says age researcher Bergersen.

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Brain researcher Hjelle believes there is one thing that is a very clear warning sign.

– The most important thing that separates forgetting a little about dementia from time to time is: if you have dementia, there is something that goes beyond the everyday things you do. Dementia is often much more than memory loss, it is a loss of identity and often a clear personality change.

– If you notice that in a relatively short time you have experienced a significant reduction or loss of what we call cognitive functions; Like memory, the ability to plan and perform tasks, so that it reduces the level of function in everyday life, it can be good to go to the doctor for an exam, says Hjelle.

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Also, your memory naturally weakens with age, without this meaning you’re on the road to dementia.

– The vast majority of those who go to the doctor and are concerned that they have become insane, are not. There are many other disturbing causes that can be behind faulty memory, Hjelle says.

Bergersen and Hjelle, therefore, list four factors that interfere with your memory.

If you are among those struggling with memory, you can take comfort in the fact that there are some relatively simple steps that make the prerequisites for remembering things that much better.

1. Sleep

Age researcher Linda Hildegard Bergersen has clear appeal to those who fear early dementia, and it’s perhaps one of the simplest measures.

– Lack of sleep is something that worries me a lot. It actually makes you forgetful and can be very uncomfortable.

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– If you sleep poorly for many years, it will affect your brain. Not getting enough sleep means you’re being exposed to dementia again, Bergersen says.

Therefore, he believes that it is important that you do not put off sleep problems, but rather prioritize addressing them.

– The advantage is that sleeping well also ensures that the memory returns. If you get a good night’s sleep on a weekend, you’ll quickly feel like you’re more yourself again and remember better, Bergersen says.

2. Stress

– Some people get too many prints in one day. You can’t take in that much and then it’s easier to forget things, says Bergersen.

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She draws comparisons to the fact that we have not been used to having so much that it diverts attention from us.

– Now we have a different rhythm. When I came home from work earlier, there were fewer screens, maybe I would read the newspaper or a book, gather the family, train and watch a little TV at night, but then there was enough stimulation for that day.

3. Stimuli

One of the ways to stimulate the brain is to socialize, meet people, talk and listen.

– Sitting and talking to someone and having a nice conversation, seeing facial expressions, listening and listening to other people’s stories, is very stimulating for the brain. Social activity is therefore a stimulus in itself, says Bergersen.

Although experts believe that we are still good at searching for people and socializing in physical life, they still believe that it is worth taking a break from our rich digital life.

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Also, there is another stimulus that we have lost more and more over the years due to the digital world.

Hjelle describes it as digital dementia, that is, all the things that we no longer have to struggle to remember, because our mobile or computer remembers them for us.

– It is about strengthening the brain when using as many areas as possible. It is the “use it or lose it” principle that applies, and it is about strengthening the areas of the brain that are used a lot, while those that you do not use as often are weakened.

So we get used to our brains not having to think about certain things, like phone numbers and calendar appointments.

– Now the phone takes care of all the phone numbers, dials so that you remember your appointments at work and you receive an SMS the day before you go to the doctor. If we go to a new direction, we don’t need to orient ourselves, we just plot it and head over and just follow directions.

– These are things that are really good for the brain to remember and work on such tasks, but that is why we have taken some of the tasks that the brain does by itself, like memory, and we have given that task to our smartphones, Hjelle says, adding:

– It is healthy to wonder what this does to us and if this will weaken our long-term memory.

4. Health

Prioritizing sleep and avoiding stress are common components of being kind to your body. It’s also not surprising that a healthy diet and exercise are good for you, also when it comes to memory.

– Blood vessels must be healthy and fast to have good nerve cells, and if you are physically active and have a healthy diet, it will help you to be more robust to develop dementia, says Bergersen.

She thinks that it is often easy for these things to be connected, that is, that someone has better conditions for this to happen because of the lifestyle that they otherwise also have.

– Those who take care of their health by being physically active also like to eat healthy, and they have the leftover to do something nice, like meet others and get social stimulation, which in turn leads to better remembering, says Bergersen. , and finish:

– In the same way, you end up in a negative spiral when you are always stressed, sleep little, drink too much and do not have time to cook properly.

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