Early Symptoms Of Dementia: How To Detect Them?

Exercising every day, sleeping well, cultivating self-esteem, maintaining a balanced diet are habits that can bring multiple benefits to health, and even in terms of preventing dementia .

Many people wonder what signs can be early symptoms of a neurodegenerative disease associated with age, and more specifically of dementia.

Dementia is an umbrella term to describe symptoms that affect reasoning, memory, and cognitive activity as a result of a natural deterioration associated with age.

Some signs can be significant but need to be evaluated by a specialist. We do not all have the same abilities and skills every day. It must be taken into account that the emotional state also exerts a great influence on this point.

Therefore, you have to know the difference between feeling dizzy after a period of stress, and nervousness, for example.

Possible early symptoms of dementia

Even though each case is different, we can cite early symptoms of dementia which are generally common:

Meaning

• A less developed sense of smell. The loss of smell (total or partial) is often one of the early symptoms of dementia and more specifically of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
• Reduced visibility. Visual information can become complicated, for example, when calculating distances or color differences. Reading skills also worsen and it is more difficult for you to understand what you are reading.

General difficulties

In general, there are a few symptoms that could indicate the onset of dementia in the future.

• Problems expressing themselves and writing. You have difficulty starting or participating in a conversation. We forget what we have just been told, we forget simple words and the grammar gets worse. In addition, we make more grammatical errors and punctuation marks. The writing becomes more difficult to read and understand.
• Loss of objects. It is common not to remember where you put everyday items (keys, remote control, wallet, etc.).
• Difficulty performing household chores. Sometimes we lose the ability to perform simple tasks, such as making a cup of tea, turning on the television, going to the computer, or going to a loved one.
• Slowness in decision making. We note here an increase in the difficulties in making decisions (planning an itinerary or deciding on a recipe). It also works for following directions when preparing a recipe or for following the correct route when driving.
• Memory faults. A person with dementia has a harder time remembering things they have learned recently. This could be the case with the dates, names or places she visited. She forgets the medical appointment she had scheduled or even to make one.
• Disorientation and loss of the notion of time. People with dementia tend to be confused in places they often go and even forget why they are there. They also present difficulties when it comes to analyzing the passage of time; they forget important dates and sometimes have difficulty distinguishing between the past and the future.

On a personal level: early symptoms of dementia

• Changes in character and mood. People with early symptoms of dementia experience changes in mood. They may suddenly become very anxious, irritable, fearful, or excessively depressed. They can also sometimes behave inappropriately or uninhibited in public.
• Tendency to isolation. Since they tend to feel more fearful and vulnerable, they are not interested in social relationships or paying attention to what others say to them. As a result, these people may be even more withdrawn, tend to isolate themselves, to feel melancholy.
  • Depressive executives are the antechamber of Alzheimer’s.

• Neglect of personal grooming. People with dementia have difficulty making decisions. They also see their capacity for judgment and common sense reduced. For example, when shopping, they will tend to buy unnecessary, extravagant or too many items. In addition, they can stop taking care of their personal toilet. This can lead them to have social problems.

Good habits to help the brain stay young

The brain does not age like the rest of the body. He does not have white hair or wrinkles, but we do feel that over time some mental capacities slow down. For example, short-term memory (the one that allows us to remember phone numbers) deteriorates.

To keep a young brain, we can rely on some simple lifestyle habits, such as:

• Do moderate physical exercise, preferably aerobics and in the open air. By being in contact with nature, breathing well and doing oxygenation exercises with deep breaths. Oxygenation of the brain is fundamental.
• Maintain an active social life. Studies like the one published in 2006 in the journal Neurology suggest that social relationships may have a positive role in dementia.
• Sleep well. It is recommended to sleep between 7 and 9 hours. The nap is also very healthy, between 1 and 4 p.m., for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 90 minutes.
• Eat proper foods. Certain foods such as refined sugar, processed foods, industrial flours, saturated fat, and alcohol can have an effect in the onset of dementia.
• Cultivate self-esteem. Social relationships begin with the relationship we establish with ourselves. Looking at ourselves with love, admiration, pride, taking care of our physical appearance and devoting a moment to listening to our body can be a parameter that helps us feel younger.

Obviously,  no two brains age the same. Nevertheless, the majority of the rules of life already mentioned and that we have in our hands at all times can help to maintain a young brain.

The importance of early diagnosis to prevent dementia

Detecting the symptoms mentioned (before they become clearer) can help establish more effective treatments to alleviate them. Thus, seeing a specialist if they present themselves recurrently and worsen over time will help prevent increasing deterioration.