I've seen it unironically cited in psychology textbooks as a 'benefit' to dementia that you become increasingly unaware of just how much you've lost. It's not totally untrue I suppose, so I can see the angle, but it's also clearly the copest of copes.
One major reason to be aware of decline is so you can plan. That may include long term care or obviously more dramatic measures. It creates a gigantic set of issues for families when someone declines who had no plan at all and is in denial or unable to understand their own decline.
Eh, that seems to be only partially true. You are forever aware of the feeling of location loss, positional unawareness. You wake up every minute, in a strange city, strange place, with strange people. Normal reaction to that is stress and panic. Which is why you get medicated against fear and stress as dementia patient.
When you say "mostly optional" I assume you mean working out will drastically reduce the rate of muscle loss. Is that what you mean or are there other intervention?
Yeah exactly. Continuing to use your muscles so they don’t deteriorate, sleeping a good amount, and eating a decent diet that includes enough protein to sustain them.
You will still get less strong with age even if you do this but vast bulk of sarcopenia is just atrophy. Also worth noting that preservation is easier than gaining. Meaning if you get strong you can keep most of it with less effort than it took to acquire it.
One major reason to be aware of decline is so you can plan. That may include long term care or obviously more dramatic measures. It creates a gigantic set of issues for families when someone declines who had no plan at all and is in denial or unable to understand their own decline.