Virtually everyone has forgetful moments, but how do you know if your memory lapses are the normal day-to-day variety or a sign of something more serious like dementia? It’s a common concern, especially with increasing age.

Among Americans, the notion of losing mental capacity evokes twice as much fear as losing physical ability, and 60 percent of U.S. adults say they are very or somewhat worried about memory loss.¹

On a bright note, most memory blips are nothing to panic over. As you get older, your brain’s information-processing speed may decline, which means it may take you longer to recall who wrote the book you’re reading or the name of your childhood playmate.

The word is on the tip of your tongue, but even if you can’t recall it you’re able to restructure your thoughts to get your message across. This is quite normal, as are so-called “senior moments,” or as neuroscientists call them “maladaptive brain activity changes.”

Examples include sending an email to the wrong person or forgetting about an appointment.

These occur because your brain perceives many of your daily tasks as patterns and may revert to its default mode network (DMN), the part of your brain responsible for your inward-focused thinking, such as daydreaming, during this time.

In short, your brain takes a mini time out when you actually need its focused attention, causing a minor, but completely normal, lapse in memory.

Memory Loss: When to Worry

If changes in your memory or thinking skills are severe enough to be noticed by your friends and family you could be facing mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is a slight decline in cognitive abilities that increases your risk of developing more serious dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

If your mental changes are so significant that they’re interfering with your ability to function or live independently, it could be dementia. For instance, it’s normal to have trouble finding the right word on occasion, but if you forget words frequently and repeat phrases and stories during a conversation, there could be a problem.

Another red flag is getting lost or disoriented in familiar places (as opposed to needing to ask for directions on occasion).