Age-related memory impairment affects roughly 40% of persons aged 65 and above, or around 16 million Americans. Every year, approximately 1% of them will get dementia.
Dementia increases the risk of memory issues. Many victims of the disease also suffer psychological problems like stress and depression.
Assisted living facilities are the best solutions for seniors with memory problems. The facilities offer personalized memory care to help the patients enjoy a quality life.
Here are the top 10 warning signs of memory loss to look out for.
1. Changes in Moods
Mood swings happen for many reasons. Among them include injuries, medications, and hormonal changes. For dementia cases, mood swings are quite different.
Many elderly adults with dementia do not recognize that their moods are changing. Unlike other cases, people losing memory do not have control over their moods.
A common side effect of mood changes in many seniors is depression. The problem happens in the early stages of dementia.
Elderly parents on the verge of losing memory also develop anxiety. Depression and anxiety affect the victims’ sleep patterns and diet.
2. Language Problems
Problems in speech and writing are also common signs of memory loss. Dementia makes it difficult for the victim’s brain to process the vocabulary. As a result, it also becomes challenging for people with dementia to understand what others say.
Many seniors with dementia feel that the words they hear lack meaning. Challenges in speech and writing cause misunderstandings when communicating with people living with dementia.
Often, seniors with dementia fail to find the right words to communicate their needs. As a result, their conversations take longer than expected.
If your loved one has speech problems, find an assisted living facility with speech-language experts. The specialists offer quality speech therapy to boost the victims’ verbal communication skills.
3. Disruption of Daily Life
As dementia progresses, it becomes challenging for one to perform various daily activities. Disruption in one’s day-to-day life affects their life quality.
Dementia disrupts the victim’s daily living in several ways. First, the disease makes it challenging for the victim to choose the right clothes to wear. As a result, dressing becomes a problem.
Dementia also affects one’s ability to choose the right foods. Other daily activities disrupted by dementia include washing, bathing, and toileting. Choose an assisted living facility to help your loved one in various day-to-day activities.
4. Lack of Emotions
Lack of emotions is known as apathy. The condition arises in the late stages of dementia.
Elderly adults with apathy lose interest in important things like hobbies, friendships, and emotions. Lack of emotions also makes the victims quite careless. A person with apathy is less concerned about how their actions affect others.
Apathy also demotivates the victims, detaching them from the world. People with apathy spend much of their time alone and fail to express their emotions appropriately.
5. Problem-Solving Challenges
Planning and problem-solving are essential to everyone’s life. Abstract thinking is responsible for one’s problem-solving ability.
In the early stages, dementia starts affecting one’s abstract thinking ability. As a result, their abilities to solve various problems like simple calculations start to decline.
In seniors, the condition is worse. Besides planning and problem-solving challenges, many aged adults also face challenges in concentrating. Assisted living facilities provide cognitive therapy to reduce problem-solving challenges in their patients.
6. Forgetting
Forgetting comes as a result of changes in one’s short-term memory. The problem is a sign that your loved one is in the early stages of dementia.
Forgetting worsens as dementia progresses with time. In the late stages of dementia, many aged adults forget events that took place a while ago.
The problem also affects the victims’ routines. They forget what they had planned to do.
7. Impaired Judgement
Dementia or loss of memory causes many seniors to make poor decisions in several ways. First, people losing memory fail to recognize safety.
They do not recognize situations that can endanger their lives. For example, one can cross a busy road without checking traffic lights.
Financial decisions can also help you know that your loved one has memory problems. Dementia makes many victims less careful with their cash.
8. Confusion
The confusion comes in several ways to people with dementia. First, they face problems in focusing their attention on things they do.
Another sign of the problem is mumbling. Mumbling means that one communicates things that don’t make sense.
Other common signs of confusion include uncertainty, lack of time awareness, and changes in emotions. Assisted living facilities provide seniors with individualized care to gain their attention.
9. Repetition
Dementia causes many people to change their behaviors. It is because of behavioral change that the victims become repetitive.
How can you know that your loved one is suffering memory loss? The first thing is to check out if they repeat various day-to-day activities like bathing.
The other tip is to pay attention to your loved one’s conversation. Dementia causes one to repeat the same words or questions when conversing.
10. Inability to Complete Tasks
Has your loved one been having challenges finishing familiar tasks of late? Aged adults with dementia are unable to complete familiar work.
For example, one may have challenges in organizing clothes in a wardrobe. Don’t wait for your loved one’s condition to deteriorate further. Instead, take them to a good assisted living facility.
You Now Know the Top 10 Warning Signs of Memory Loss
Dementia is a major problem affecting many seniors globally. Don’t overlook the fact that you or a loved one is having difficulty with some cognitive tasks. Check out the above top 10 warning signs of memory loss.
At Royal Garden Board & Care Homes, we’re an experienced facility providing quality living for aging adults. Our care services include assisted living, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, hospice care, safety and security.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment.