Dementia is an umbrella term for a wide range of cognitive diseases and conditions (i.e., Alzehimer’s disease). Dementia is usually recognized if you have problems speaking, short memory loss, difficulty solving problems, difficulty doing familiar tasks, or if you find yourself being confused about time or place. All of these symptoms of dementia can have a severe effect on your daily life. Globally, there are an estimated 50 million people who are diagnosed with dementia.

There are about 10 million people who become affected yearly. It begins subtly and can go undetected if you don’t know what to look for. There are several variations of dementia that currently exist. Although Alzheimer’s disease is the most common, there is a variation of other symptoms that include:

• Vascular dementia
• Dementia with lewy bodies
• Frontotemporal dementia
• Mixed dementia

In this article, we will name and define the five most common early symptoms of dementia:

1. Problems with short-term memory
Short-term memory is broken down into categories, working memory, and short-term memory. Short-term memory refers to how your brain works with and accumulates information and details. With short-term memory loss, you’ll find yourself failing to remember things you saw, heard, and said recently.

2. Difficulty polving Problems
We all struggle with problem-solving at times, but sometimes this can be an indication that one suffers from dementia. Misplaced keys, having a hard time with planning something simple can be a warning sign that we should pay attention to.

3. Difficulty doing familiar tasks
With dementia, one will experience difficulty in performing tasks that they once found to be simple and easy. You might forget how to cook a meal you’ve been cooking all of your life, how to operate your t.v. remote, iPhone, etc…

4. Being confused about time or place
Dementia can affect your perception and understanding of time and dates. One will often not know what time it is or forget what month they’re in. Some might visit a friend or loved one take a nap and forget that they weren’t in their home when they awaken. Others might go for a walk and get lost in a familiar place.

5. Problems speaking
People with dementia might have a hard time trying to find the right words they want to use in a conversation. They might forget what they’re talking about in mid-sentence. They might repeat a sentence that they previously stated. Some even suffer from writing to where it’s hard to decipher want they wrote down.