or passage of time. They might forget why they are somewhere or become confused about how they arrived there.
More concerning examples include becoming disoriented in a familiar neighborhood or having difficulty finding the way home from a place visited many times before.
Occasionally forgetting which day of the week it is and quickly figuring it out is generally different from repeatedly becoming disoriented about time and place.
Getting Lost Deserves Particular Attention
Navigation involves memory, attention, visual processing, and spatial awareness.
If someone begins getting lost on familiar routes, missing familiar landmarks, or becoming confused while driving in places they previously knew well, the change deserves medical attention.
Driving safety may also need to be considered if cognitive or visual-spatial problems become significant.
Sudden Confusion Is Different
Alzheimer’s disease generally causes gradual changes rather than confusion that suddenly appears over minutes or hours.
An abrupt change in mental status
