10 Warning Signs of Dementia vs. Normal Forgetfulness

By HollyHerman.com Editorial Team | Sources checked October 3, 2026

Short answer: the Alzheimer's Association publishes a list of 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's and other dementia. They are set out below, each next to the change it describes as typical with age. The thread running through the sources is whether memory or thinking changes disrupt daily life. If you notice one or more of these signs in yourself or someone you know, the Alzheimer's Association and the CDC both say to talk with a doctor rather than wait.

We are an editorial team, not clinicians. This guide can't tell you what is going on with you or a relative. It can help you notice what is happening, write it down, and walk into an appointment prepared.

The 10 warning signs of dementia, side by side with typical age-related changes

1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
   • Warning sign: forgetting what you just learned, missing important dates or events, asking the same questions repeatedly, and depending more on notes, devices or family for things once handled alone.
   • Typical age-related change: forgetting a name or appointment now and then, then remembering it later.
2. Challenges in planning or solving problems
   • Warning sign: difficulty making or following a plan or working with numbers, such as a familiar recipe or monthly bills, along with trouble concentrating and tasks taking much longer.
   • Typical age-related change: an occasional slip in managing money or household bills.
3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks
   • Warning sign: trouble with everyday activities that used to be routine, such as driving to a familiar place, putting together a grocery list, or recalling the rules of a favorite game.
   • Typical age-related change: now and then needing help with a microwave setting or recording a show.
4. Confusion with time or place
   • Warning sign: losing track of dates, seasons or passing time, having trouble grasping something that isn't happening right now, or forgetting where you are or how you got there.
   • Typical age-related change: mixing up the day of the week but working it out later.
5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
   • Warning sign: vision-related trouble that can affect balance, reading, judging distance, or telling color and contrast, and can make driving a problem.
   • Typical age-related change: vision changes from cataracts.
6. New problems with words in speaking or writing
   • Warning sign: difficulty following or joining a conversation, stopping partway with no idea how to continue, repeating oneself, struggling with vocabulary, or using the wrong name for a familiar object.
   • Typical age-related change: sometimes searching for the right word.
7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
   • Warning sign: putting things in odd places and being unable to retrace steps to find them. The person may also accuse others of stealing, especially as the condition progresses.
   • Typical age-related change: misplacing things occasionally but finding them by retracing your steps.
8. Decreased or poor judgment
   • Warning sign: changes in judgment or decision-making, such as poor choices with money or paying less attention to grooming and cleanliness.
   • Typical age-related change: making a bad decision or a mistake once in a while.
9. Withdrawal from work or social activities
   • Warning sign: stepping back from hobbies, social activities, work or other commitments, which may follow trouble keeping up with conversation or a favorite activity.
   • Typical age-related change: sometimes not feeling like attending family or social obligations.
10. Changes in mood and personality
    • Warning sign: becoming confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious, and being easily upset at home, with friends, or outside familiar surroundings.
    • Typical age-related change: becoming set in specific ways of doing things and irritable when a routine is disrupted.

Source: Alzheimer's Association, 10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's and Dementia, paraphrased. A CDC/NIOSH training module for home care workers presents a similar ten-item list, adapted from the Association's.

What ordinary forgetting looks like

The CDC says some memory change is a normal part of getting older, and it describes dementia as not a normal part of aging. Many older adults never develop it. According to the CDC, normal changes can include:

• Sometimes forgetting where you put your keys
• Struggling to find a word but remembering it later
• Forgetting the name of an acquaintance
• Forgetting the most recent events

The CDC adds that these changes can be frustrating but should not get in the way of daily life, and that knowledge you gained over the years, old memories and language stay intact with normal aging.

The CDC also lists some “telltale signs” that may point to dementia:

• Getting lost in a familiar neighborhood
• Using unusual words for familiar objects
• Forgetting the name of a close family member or friend
• Forgetting old memories
• Not being able to complete common tasks on your own

One more point of context. A CDC/NIOSH training module explains that dementia is not one disease. It is a set of symptoms that goes along with certain diseases, most commonly Alzheimer's, or with physical conditions that damage the brain. The same module says there are more than 100 dementia-related illnesses and that dementia tends to worsen over time.

Sources: CDC, Signs and Symptoms of Dementia (page dated August 14, 2024) and CDC/NIOSH, Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others, Module 5.

Who should talk to a doctor, and why sooner helps

The Alzheimer's Association says that if you notice any of the 10 signs in yourself or someone you know, don't ignore them. Schedule an appointment with a doctor. It also acknowledges that this can feel awkward: you may worry that saying it out loud makes it feel more real, or that you'll upset a relative by sharing what you've noticed.

The CDC says a health care provider can help work out whether symptoms are related to dementia or to a more treatable condition. It adds that early diagnosis gives you and your family time to consider treatment options, financial planning, advance directives, clinical trials and care needs.

The Alzheimer's Association notes that many people start with their primary care doctor, who often oversees the evaluation. Depending on the situation, a neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist or geriatrician may also be involved.

If someone seems to be in immediate danger, call your local emergency number. For questions or support, the Alzheimer's Association runs a free 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900.

Keep a dated observation log

“Be as specific as possible” is the Alzheimer's Association's advice for describing changes to a doctor. A simple log makes that easier, because details are hard to recall on the spot. Here is a format you can copy into a notebook or notes app. It is our suggestion, not a medical tool. Add one entry each time something stands out:

• Date and time:
• Who noticed (you, or someone else):
• What happened, in plain facts rather than guesses:
• What the person was doing at the time:
• Which of the 10 signs it resembles, if any:
• Did the person work it out or remember later, or not?
• Did it affect a daily task, money, driving or safety?
• Has something like this happened before? When?
• Any recent changes in health, mood, medicines or routine:

A few entries over several weeks give a doctor more to work with than “my memory seems worse.”

Questions to take to a doctor's visit

The Alzheimer's Association suggests bringing a written list of questions, since it is common to forget what you meant to ask. Here are some to start from:

• What tests will be done, what does each one involve, and how long will they take?
• How long until we learn the results?
• How familiar are you with diagnosing dementia, and when would you refer me (or my relative) to a specialist?
• Could something more treatable be behind these changes?
• Would you look over my full list of prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and supplements?
• If this does turn out to be dementia, what would the next steps be?

The Alzheimer's Association also suggests bringing:

• A list of changes you've noticed in health, mood, memory and behavior (your log covers this)
• A list of past and current medical problems, including any family illnesses that caused memory problems
• A list of current prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines
• A list of vitamins or supplements you've added
• Your written questions

If worry about memory has you reading about supplements, put any you take on that list, along with your medicines and vitamins. A product page, ours included, can't tell you why memory is changing. That takes an evaluation. For one example of what a seller claims and what we could not confirm, see our Memora memory supplement page, which carries an affiliate disclosure.

Source: Alzheimer's Association, Visiting Your Doctor.

What this guide can't tell you

• It can't diagnose. The warning signs are a prompt to get checked, not a score.
• Some signs have ordinary look-alikes. The Association itself pairs the visual sign with cataract-related vision changes, which is one reason a clinician needs to sort out the cause.
• Occasional lapses fit what the CDC describes as normal. Even so, the Association advises booking a visit if you notice any of the signs in yourself or someone you know. Please don't use this guide to talk yourself out of an appointment.
• Only a clinician can sort out what is behind the changes, including whether it is something more treatable.

Sources

Opened and checked October 3, 2026:

• Alzheimer's Association: 10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's and Dementia. Supports the 10 signs, the typical age-related comparisons, and the advice to see a doctor.
• Alzheimer's Association: Visiting Your Doctor. Supports what to bring, the questions about testing, and the types of specialists.
• CDC: Signs and Symptoms of Dementia (dated August 14, 2024). Supports normal age-related changes, telltale signs, and the benefits of early diagnosis.
• CDC/NIOSH: Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others, Module 5. Supports the description of dementia as a set of symptoms and the adapted ten-item list.