Age-Related Forgetfulness

Older adults may worry about their memory and other thinking abilities, such as taking longer to learn something new. These changes are usually signs of mild forgetfulness — or age-related forgetfulness — and are often a normal part of aging. However, more serious memory problems could be due to mild cognitive impairment, dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, or other factors beyond normal aging. Many older adults can become more forgetful as they age, which is why it is important to learn the differences between age-related forgetfulness and signs of dementia. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) recently released an infographic to help differentiate between age-related forgetfulness and signs of dementia.