Memory Aids Can Help Compensate for Mild Cognitive Impairment
Are you having trouble remembering a name? Using the wrong word in a sentence? Forgetting where you put something? Having difficulty staying focused?
If your answer is “yes” to one or more of the questions above, you may be among the 10 to 15 percent of adults over the age of 65 who have a condition called mild cognitive impair-ment—MCI.
“MCI usually affects older adults,” says Emily Finkelstein, MD, assistant professor of medi-cine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. “The only known risk factor is advancing age. Some other potential risk factors are diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, depression, and social isolation.”
The exact definition of MCI is a moving target that researchers and physicians are continuing to refine. Most agree that the distinguishing symptom of MCI is a deficit in memory that does not significantly interfere with activities of daily living. People with MCI are able to live normal lives, hold jobs or enjoy retirement, and manage their affairs. The degree of memory loss may stay at the same level indefinitely, or it may even improve for a few people.
However, for some, MCI is a stage of impairment between normal aging and the more serious condition of dementia.
“Only about 10 percent of people who have MCI go on to develop dementia; the large majority does not,” explains Dr. Finkelstein.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
About mild cognitive impairment:
➤ It affects 10 to 15 percent of adults over the age of 65.
➤ The only known risk factor is age.
➤ About 10 percent of those with MCI develop dementia.
Use helpful tools
Regardless of what happens in the future, Dr. Finkelstein says there are things you can do now to get through every day without allowing annoying lapses of memory to have a negative effect. The key is to make helpful memory aids a part of your daily routine, not occasional tools that you pull out when all else fails.
- Take notes. Carry a small tablet or notebook and write down names of people you meet, directions, instructions from your doctor, appointments, or key points during a conversation. Another option is a voice recorder (see box, below).
- Make a list. Systematically—on a daily or at least regular basis—making a list can help you compensate for memory lapses. Grocery lists, to-do lists, lists of the names of people you might see during a given day, and lists of frequently-used telephone numbers are a start.
- Take pictures. Taking a photo wouldn’t have been practical a decade ago, but now, almost anyone with a cell phone has a built-in camera. Taking a quick shot of a parking space, a sign in a yard or business place, an item borrowed or loaned, or a favorite restaurant can give your memory a needed boost.
Some older adults say they don’t know how to use a cell phone camera: The solution is to use it so often that remembering how is not a problem.
TRY A VOICE RECORDER
Miniature digital voice recorders cost as little as $30. Most can be started, stopped, and played back with one button. They record up to 60 voice memos, or about eight minutes of recordings. They are battery-powered, lightweight, and small enough to attach to a key chain. Use them to record driving directions, lists, appointments—anything you need to remember.
- Mark up a calendar. Calendars on walls and desks, as well as in cell phones and computers, are not new, but using them as interactive devices for recording appointments, meetings, birthdays, and other events converts calendars into memory aids.
- Use timers. Alarm clocks are one of the original reminder devices. Set kitchen timers or alarms in watches and automobiles to remind you to take medication, check your mail or email, turn the stove or oven on or off, or do other tasks you may have difficulty remembering.
- Put things in assigned places. How many times have you misplaced car keys, reading glasses, hearing aids, or your cell phone? When not in use, put those items in a specific place at home—car keys and wallet on a specific dresser or counter, glasses where you use them while reading, hearing aids in a carrying case, cell phones near landline phones.
- Ask for help. Ask a family member or friend to help you remember important dates, names, places, and events. Ask someone to accompany you when you go to the doctor so that person can help you remember instructions. Getting into a routine of asking for memory assistance is a sign that you are constructively dealing with MCI-related problems, and it may open the door for other solutions.
“If you have any concerns about your memory, you should raise them with your physician during your next visit,” advises Dr. Finkelstein. “There are several reversible and treatable conditions that are associated with forgetfulness and memory loss. It is important to have a thorough examination, including blood work, to be tested and treated for these reversible causes.”
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