Perhaps the most immediate warning sign is memory loss severe enough to interfere with everyday activities. This doesn’t involve forgetting things like where you left your car parked, but rather problems like:
Failure to recall recent conversations or significant occurrences
Repetition of questions
Reliance on post-it notes and families to keep track of minor details
As mentioned by The Alzheimer’s Association, forgetting short-term information tends to be one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.
Difficulty planning and problem solving
At its onset, dementia could disrupt the executive functions of the brain that are responsible for managing activities. The symptoms include troubles with following a well-known recipe or set of instructions, tracking monthly payments or finances in general, remaining concentrated on tasks that the person has repeated many times.
The inability to manage and plan tasks indicates deterioration in the frontal and temporal regions of the brain.