I knew about mum brain.
I had heard about it. I assumed it was temporary.
A few foggy months, maybe a year, and then you got yourself back.
Your keys would return to the hook.
Sentences would finish themselves.
You would remember why you walked into a room.
My child is five. I am back to about 90 per cent.
I have made my peace with the rest.
My ADHD self probably was not starting from a perfect baseline anyway.
So when I came across the work of Dr Tara Swart, I paid attention.
Dr Swart is a neuroscientist, former psychiatrist and senior lecturer at MIT.
Her work centres on neuroplasticity.
The idea that your brain is not fixed.
That it can form new pathways, rewire old ones, and genuinely shift the way you think, feel and function.
At any age. Good news for most of us.
Possibly too late for my dad, who has spent the better part of 50 years enthusiastically undoing his neural pathways one VB at a time.
But for the rest of us, there is real hope here.
The best part?
The things that support neuroplasticity are not complicated.
They are mostly things you already know you should be doing.
You just might not have known your brain was the reason why.
Sleep like it matters
Seven to nine hours is not a luxury. It is a biological requirement.
While you sleep, your brain clears out the waste products that build up during the day.
When that process is interrupted, those waste products accumulate.
Over time, that is one of the primary drivers of cognitive decline.
Getting to bed is not laziness. It is maintenance.
Drink more water than you think you need
The brain is about 75 per cent water. That single fact should be enough.
Dr Swart is consistent across her work that hydration is foundational to brain function.
Not a bonus. Not optional.
She also notes that eating water-rich foods like cucumber and melon supports hydration in ways that drinking water alone does not always cover.
Eat darker foods
Dr Swart recommends choosing darker coloured foods where possible because they contain higher levels of antioxidants called anthocyanins.
These support neurogenesis. The actual growth of new brain cells.
Think blueberries over green grapes. Black beans over cannellini.
Dark chocolate over milk.
Purple broccoli when you can find it (I am currently growing some).
Small swaps with real science behind them.
Move your body aerobically
A walk counts. A swim counts.
Anything that gets your heart rate up supports the brain’s ability to change and adapt.
It does not need to be intense. It needs to be regular.
Mind your self talk
The words you use about yourself and to yourself are not just feelings. They are instructions to your brain.
Swart is clear that positive language and reframing how you talk about setbacks actively creates new neural pathways.
Your inner monologue is either working for you or against you. Choosing differently, even when it feels forced at first, is how the rewiring begins.
Sleep well. Drink water. Eat well. Move.
Think kindly about yourself. Simple in theory.
Worth doing for your brain alone.
I am currently down a rabbit hole absorbing Dr Swart’s work, so no doubt I’ll be sharing more.
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