Dr. Emer MacSweeney has outlined three daily habits she says can build lasting brain health.
The neuroradiologist and brain health expert, speaking to the outlet, emphasized that everyday choices compound over decades to shape cognitive resilience. MacSweeney, who is described as a world-renowned specialist in brain and mind health, pointed to sleep quality, dietary patterns, and novel experiences as the pillars of her approach.
“Consistent sleep, nourishing food, and regular social and intellectual engagement can help create a healthier environment for the brain over decades,” she said.
MacSweeney stressed that sleep deserves far more attention than it typically receives in busy modern routines. She explained that the brain remains active during rest, running what she called a “nightly housekeeping process.”
“Sleep is an active period of maintenance and restoration, and inadequate sleep is one of the most underestimated threats to long-term brain health. It’s not just about quantity, but quality, too,” she said.
The expert pointed to the glymphatic system, which operates during deep sleep to clear metabolic waste including amyloid-beta and tau proteins. These proteins, she noted, are associated with Alzheimer’s disease when they accumulate abnormally.
“During deep sleep, the brain’s glymphatic system (think of this as a nightly housekeeping process) helps to clear metabolic waste, including proteins such as amyloid-beta and tau. These proteins are associated with Alzheimer’s disease when they accumulate abnormally within the brain,” MacSweeney explained.
She warned that chronic sleep disruption damages this clearance process and carries additional risks including inflammation, impaired memory consolidation, and reduced cognitive performance.
Diet formed the second pillar of MacSweeney’s recommendations. She favors whole-food, plant-forward eating patterns, specifically naming the Mediterranean and MIND diets as evidence-backed options.
“What we eat also influences the environment our brain functions in,” she said.
The MIND diet, which combines elements of the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension eating plan, is designed to reduce dementia risk and slow age-related loss of brain function. MacSweeney noted that these approaches emphasize vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, fish, nuts, and healthy fats while minimizing highly processed foods.
“These diets emphasize vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, fish, nuts and healthy fats, with relatively little highly processed food,” she said.
Beyond brain benefits, MacSweeney added that such food choices support cardiovascular and metabolic health and help reduce inflammation throughout the body.
The third habit MacSweeney promoted involves deliberately seeking novelty and challenge rather than remaining in comfortable routines. She suggested this could mean learning a new language, trying a new sport, or even taking an unfamiliar route home.
“Travelling somewhere unfamiliar or mastering a new skill forces the brain to process information differently,” she explained.
MacSweeney elaborated that new experiences demand adaptation, problem-solving, and learning, which strengthen neural networks over time.
“This helps build what we call cognitive resilience: a richer, more adaptable network that may help the brain age healthfully,” she added.
The expert’s overall message centered on proactivity rather than waiting for problems to emerge. She said that “it’s crucial to be proactive about the choices we make every day” to protect long-term brain function.
Brain health encompasses memory, movement, emotions, and sensory processing, according to standard medical definitions. MacSweeney’s guidance arrives as public interest in wellness has surged, with younger generations increasingly prioritizing gym routines and structured workout classes over traditional nightlife.
However, MacSweeney’s intervention suggests physical fitness trends may be overlooking an equally important dimension of wellbeing. Her recommendations require no special equipment or membership fees, instead asking for consistent attention to sleep schedules, meal composition, and willingness to step outside habitual patterns.
The expert noted that while many people are creatures of habit, “the brain also thrives on novelty and challenge.”
MacSweeney continues her work in brain and mind health research and clinical practice.