Topic guides: Worried about your memory: Content

Gallery

Dementia Australia resources

Worried about your memory? Your guide to understanding memory loss
So, what is ‘normal forgetfulness’ and what can you do if you are worried about your memory? The answers are rarely simple, but we can endeavour to be better informed about the stages of memory and what happens as we age. Perhaps the critical question you need to consider is whether you feel that you can no longer function with confidence in your daily life. It may be that you have less need to be worried than you think. But, if after reading this booklet you do feel concerned about your memory, the problems you face organising your life, finding the right word or other cognitive issues, then talking to your doctor is a good starting point.

Early warning signs
The early signs of dementia can be very subtle. They’re also different from person to person. Listed here isn information on common early signs of dementia. If you notice any of these changes in yourself, or someone else notices them in you, talk to your doctor. The sooner you know, the more you can do.

About dementia by Dementia Australia
What is dementia, who gets it and some of its most common forms.

BrainTrack App
BrainTrack is a free app that helps you monitor and understand changes in cognition over time, which you can use to start a conversation with your GP. The app will help you explore this common concern, providing brain health information through fun, travel-themed games that test your cognition. The resulting conversation and monitoring may lead to an earlier diagnosis of dementia.

Healthy brain, Healthy life: How to reduce your risk of developing dementia (Rev 2024)
Keeping your brain healthy is essential for living a fulfilling, healthy and long life. In fact, scientific research suggests that a brain-healthy lifestyle can reduce your risk of developing dementia later in life. Whether you are old, young or in-between, there are simple changes you can make to improve and protect your brain health. It is never too late to get started.

Books

Memory wise: how memory works and what to do when it doesn't by Anne Unkenstein
Publication Date: 2019
It’s common to be concerned about memory lapses, but how do you know if memory difficulties are normal or the beginnings of something more serious? Can dementia be prevented? Memory-wise explains how memory works and the changes that can occur as we age. It explains the sort of health, attitude and lifestyle factors that can lead to fluctuation in memory and provides practical tips to minimise their effects.
Remember : the science of memory and the art of forgetting by Lisa Genova
Publication Date: 2021
In Remember, neuroscientist and acclaimed novelist Lisa Genova delves into how memories are made and how we retrieve them. You'll learn whether forgotten memories are temporarily inaccessible or erased forever and why some memories are built to exist for only a few seconds (like a passcode) while others can last a lifetime (your wedding day). You'll come to appreciate the clear distinction between normal forgetting (where you parked your car) and forgetting due to Alzheimer's (that you own a car).
The Memory Handbook by Robin Dynes
Publication Date: 2017
This handbook is full of practical ideas to use with anyone who is experiencing mild to severe memory difficulties. The suggestions and activities can be used when working with individuals or groups. The handbook includes;
• Information about how memory works and different types of memory• An outline of what can affect memory• Strategies to aid memory• Activities to practice using the strategies• Activities to keep the brain active and maintain memory
Spaced Retrieval Step by Step by Jeanette Benigas; Jennifer Brush; Gail Elliot
Publication Date: 2016
Spaced Retrieval (SR) is an effective way to support individuals with dementia and other memory loss. This book takes a fresh approach to SR, teaching the innovative process step by step so you can better assist people in learning the important information needed to improve independence, safety, and quality of life.
Practical Memory: A Simple Guide to Help You Remember More & Forget Less in Your Everyday Life by I. C. Robledo
Publication Date: 2017
This audiobook describes simple systems and exercises anyone can use to improve their memory.
Understanding memory loss by National Insitute on aging
Publication Date: 2015
This easy-to-read booklet will help readers learn about the difference between mild forgetfulness and more serious memory problems such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia; causes of memory problems and how they can be treated; and how to get help for serious memory loss. Includes vignettes, a resource list, and glossary.
Coping with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) by Mary Jordan
Publication Date: 2020
Adults are being increasingly diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and this book provides strategies for concerned individuals to help slow the onset of the condition. Around 50% of adults with MCI go on to develop dementia, but research shows that self-help through early intervention and preventative measures can hugely slow this down.

Watch and Listen

Journal articles and reports

Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission (2024)
The 2024 update of the Lancet Commission on dementia provides new hopeful evidence about dementia prevention, intervention, and care. As people live longer, the number of people who live with dementia continues to rise, even as the age-specific incidence decreases in high-income countries, emphasising the need to identify and implement prevention approaches. We have summarised the new research since the 2020 report of the Lancet Commission on dementia, prioritising systematic reviews and meta-analyses and triangulating findings from different studies showing how cognitive and physical reserve develop across the life course and how reducing vascular damage (eg, by reducing smoking and treating high blood pressure) is likely to have contributed to a reduction in age-related dementia incidence. Evidence is increasing and is now stronger than before that tackling the many risk factors for dementia that we modelled previously (ie, less education, hearing loss, hypertension, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption [ie, >21 UK units, equivalent to >12 US units], traumatic brain injury [TBI], air pollution, and social isolation) reduces the risk of developing dementia. In this report, we add the new compelling evidence that untreated vision loss and high LDL cholesterol are risk factors for dementia.
Livingston, G., Huntley, J., Liu, K. Y., Costafreda, S. G., Geir Selbæk, Suvarna Alladi, Ames, D., Banerjee, S., Burns, A., Brayne, C., Fox, N. C., Ferri, C. P., Gitlin, L. N., Howard, R., Kales, H. C., Kivimäki, M., Larson, E. B., Noeline Nakasujja, Rockwood, K., & Samus, Q. (2024). Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(24)01296-0‌

Websites

National Institute on Aging: Memory Problems, Forgetfulness, and Aging
Information on memory changes with age, mild cognitive impairment, dementia versus age-related forgetfulness, and other things that can affect memory.