Top expert reveals how to tell if your ‘brain farts’ are early signs of dementia – or just exhaustion

Forgetting things can be a frustrating part of daily life.

Whether you’re left scratching your head after walking into a room – unaware of why you did so – or forget where you put the TV remote, these so-called ‘brain farts’ can happen to almost anyone.

In fact, they’re usually caused by a range of factors that affect millions of Britons every day. 

Experts say stress, mental health problems, a lack of sleep, even hormonal changes and vitamin deficiencies, can all leave you feeling not as sharp as usual.

But in some instances, there may be a deeper concern: dementia – the umbrella term for a range of cruel brain-robbing diseases, including Alzheimer’s, that almost one million Britons are living with. 

As well as symptoms such as confusion, changes to a person’s language and behaviour, almost all dementia patients experience some form of memory loss.

Experts have told the Daily Mail that the most common question they’re asked is, ‘how do I know if it’s a normal memory lapse – or dementia?’ 

‘We know that people are more afraid of dementia than they are of other serious illnesses like cancer,’ said June Andrews, a leading dementia expert and professor emeritus at the University of Stirling.

‘This is especially true for middle-aged or older people. When they have a problem remembering things, they worry if it is dementia.’

The good news, Professor Andrews says, is that most of the time it is not.

However, she has highlighted some key differences between normal – albeit irritating – moments of confusion, and potential warning signs of dementia. 

Forgetting how to do things you previously could

Professor Andrews says she often hears from people who are concerned they cannot remember phone numbers.

But she says that this can be ‘normal’ if an individual is under a high level of stress or is feeling particularly exhausted.

Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can weaken brain cells in areas that are involved in memory. 

And stress has also been found to affect the brain’s memory function, particularly in middle-age.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School found in 2018 that having higher levels of cortisol – the body’s main stress hormone – may cause the brain to shrink over time and impair memory.

Professor Andrews says a more ‘serious sign’ of dementia, however, would be losing the ability to do tasks previously managed with ease.

This can be everyday tasks, like using a phone, or complex activities that an individual is used to mastering as part of their job. 

Professor Andrews gives the example of a skilled mathematician being suddenly unable to add up. 

Professor Andrews explained: ‘Not being able to remember 10 pages that you had read would be really serious if you were, for example, a barrister or an advocate who was going to be presenting a case in court the next day. 

‘There’s some jobs where it’s really important and some where it doesn’t matter at all. 

‘It’s a change from what you used to be able to do that matters.’

Being unable to recognise previously familiar faces

People may worry about dementia because they struggle to remember the names of people, especially loved ones, according to Professor Andrews.

However, this can be more likely among people with large families – and therefore may not be as much of an issue if someone gets a name or two ‘muddled up’.

‘The really worrying thing would be if you look at somebody in your family and you don’t recognise them,’ she says. 

‘If you’re just confused with names it could be because you’re busy, you’re stressed or you’ve got such a big family.’

Not being able to figure out where you are

Research conducted in 2022 found that Britons forget an average of 1,095 things per year, including birthdays and where they parked the car.

The study of around 2,000 UK adults discovered that people often forgot why they went to the supermarket or why they walked into a room.

According to the research charity Alzheimer’s Society – who the Daily Mail has partnered with in a drive to beat dementia – being confused about a ‘time or place’ is one of the most common signs of dementia.

This can mean a person may struggle to remember the location of a place they’ve visited many times, or become confused about where they are.

While memory lapses may resolve themselves quickly, Professor Andrews says that being unable to work the problem out for a long time – and becoming panicked – may be a more serious sign.

‘I might wake up one morning in a hotel room and for a moment, I don’t remember where I am,’ she explains.

‘But I look around and I see where I am. I realise, oh, I woke up in a strange bed, but here I am on holiday.

‘When someone has dementia, they can’t work it out. They wake up in a strange bed and they don’t recognise where they are, but they don’t have the capacity to work out where they are.

‘And that’s why people with dementia often suffer from terrible stress because the world doesn’t make sense anymore.’

Previously simple tasks become difficult or impossible

It’s a red flag if you struggle to do mundane tasks, like the washing, or preparing a home-cooked meal.

‘It is very worrying if you can’t use the equipment you used to be able to use and can’t follow a conversation and can’t follow instructions,’ Professor Andrews explains.

‘If you get a packet of washing powder and you think, where do I put this? Does it go in the drum or does it go in the drawer? I can’t read it. Then you put it down and don’t bother doing your washing because you can’t work out.

‘If you’ve reached that stage when you used to be able to operate the washing machine without any difficulty, then you need to go and see the doctor and say, is there something wrong with me? Because I don’t seem to be able to do things that I used to be able to do easily.’

It could be a range of other problems 

Professor Andrews stresses that no single symptom should be seen as less of a concern than another.

Instead, she encourages anyone worried about their memory or thinking skills to speak to their GP, who can investigate a range of possible causes.

The expert said memory lapses can be caused by a wide range of problems that doctors can often uncover.

‘A doctor will look for whether the person has an infection or if there’s something in their blood results that’s problematic, like a vitamin deficiency or a problem with their thyroid.

‘They will also ask questions like, how are you sleeping? Are you stressed? Is there something in your life that’s causing you difficulties that’s psychological?

‘And there are certain times of life when people are more likely to have that kind of difficulty with thinking, but it’s caused by their life circumstance.’

She points to bereavement and the menopause as two common examples. 

Many women going through the menopause report experiencing so-called brain fog, while grief and prolonged stress can also affect memory and concentration. 

‘If you’ve got any of the symptoms that could be dementia, the doctor will be looking to rule out other explanations,’ she added.

‘And that’s why it’s always a good idea to go and see a GP if you’re worried about your memory.’