7 W ARN IN G SIG N S O F ALZH EIM ERS -RELATED M EM O RY LO SS

While early-onset Alzheimers disease can strike at any time, Alzheimers is most common in adults
over the age of 60, affecting as many as 5.1 million adults in the United States. However, recent
research suggests that symptoms can begin appearing far earlier in life, so its important to keep track
of any changes in your memory, judgment, and other higher brain function.
Here are 7 warning signs that might indicate Alzheimers-related memory loss. While brain changes
are part of the normal aging cycle, its important to talk to your doctor about sudden or severe changes
and anything that begins to significantly impact your daily life.
1 Misplacing Things
Younger folks often like to joke about their grandparents putting the car keys in the refrigerator or
leaving their glasses in the silverware drawer, but misplacing things especially in odd places can
be an early sign of Alzheimers. While its normal to occasionally forget where you put your wallet
when you got home, misplacing objects can be worrisome if its increasingly frequent, or if you cant
retrace your steps to figure out where you might have put the lost item.
2 Problems With Decision-Making
Poor judgment can be a sign of Alzheimers when taken to the extreme. While occasionally spending
more money than you should on a big purchase is an unfortunate fact of life, people whose decisionmaking skills completely and suddenly go out the window, or who begin making decisions out of line
with their usual characters, may be exhibiting early Alzheimers symptoms.
3 Issues With Words
This can take a number of forms, from forgetting vocabulary words to struggling to describe abstract
thoughts to having difficulty with the physical process of writing. An occasional tip of the tongue
forgotten word is totally normal, but general communication difficulties may signal a larger problem.
4 Changes in Sense of Time
Rather than experiencing a nostalgic sense of where did the time go, people with Alzheimers may
completely lose periods of time. Forgetting dates is a small symptom of this, but larger things to be
worried about include confusion at the passage of seasons, or not being able to tell how long youve
been somewhere.
5 Getting Lost
Many of us have little sense of direction to begin with, especially now that we tend to depend on GPS
apps to get us places. However, people beginning to exhibit Alzheimers symptoms might get lost in
places that they should be familiar with, like their home neighborhood or the area around their place of
work.
6 Repetition
Re-telling the same story now and then tends to happen with age, but constantly repeating the same
stories or phrases over and over might indicate larger memory loss. Another form of repetition might
be asking the same question repeatedly, even after its been answered multiple times.
7 Difficulty Completing Tasks
Many tasks come to us naturally with years of repetition, like showering, playing favorite games, or
driving to work. People exhibiting signs of Alzheimers-related memory loss, however, may have
trouble completing tasks that they were formerly able to do with little thought.