Question 1

Is forgetting names and misplacing things a sign of dementia?

Accepted Answer

Usually not. Slower recall, taking longer to find a word, and relying more on lists are common with normal aging, and they tend to stay stable rather than steadily worsen. Dementia is diagnosed when decline in memory or thinking is severe enough to interfere with everyday independence, such as managing finances or medications. A change that is getting clearly worse over months is worth raising with a clinician.

Question 2

What is the best thing I can do to lower my dementia risk?

Accepted Answer

There is no single fix, but the Lancet Commission estimates that a large share of dementia risk is associated with a set of modifiable factors, and many are the same ones that protect the heart: blood pressure, hearing, physical activity, not smoking, and managing diabetes. The one randomized program with a clearly positive result, FINGER, combined several of these changes at once rather than relying on any one.

Question 3

Do brain-training apps and games work?

Accepted Answer

You get better at the game you practice. The catch is transfer. In the large ACTIVE trial, cognitive training improved the specific trained skills but did not broadly carry over to everyday function in the way the marketing implies. Getting faster at a puzzle is not the same as protecting the brain.

Question 4

Are memory supplements like ginkgo or fish oil worth taking?

Accepted Answer

For memory, the trial evidence is largely disappointing. Ginkgo did not reduce dementia in a large randomized trial, and omega-3 supplements did not slow cognitive decline when it was tracked in a large study. A daily multivitamin showed a small benefit in one recent trial, an outlier we report with caution. Supplements are loosely regulated, so a hopeful label can outlast flat trial results.

Question 5

Does the MIND or Mediterranean diet prevent memory loss?

Accepted Answer

The observational evidence is encouraging, but the one randomized test was not. In a three-year trial, the MIND diet did not produce a significant cognitive benefit over a comparison diet. These eating patterns are still reasonable for overall heart and vascular health, which matters for the brain, but the direct randomized proof for memory is weaker than the headlines suggest.

Memory and brain health after 50, by the evidence

Memory and brain health after 50, by the evidence: what protects cognition and what does not

Go deeper on each question

Reducing Dementia Risk: The Factors the Evidence Supports

Exercise and the aging brain: what the trials show

Diet and memory: MIND, Mediterranean, and what the evidence supports

Brain-health supplements: what the trials found

Common questions