This shift has created a new vocabulary of care: the MIND diet is as familiar in wellness circles as keto, AI-driven neurotrackers are being marketed, and governments from India to the United States are sketching national brain-health blueprints. What was once reactive mental health care is being reimagined as cognitive wellness — a lifelong discipline spanning prenatal nutrition to neurotech wearables — positioning the brain as the body’s most urgent frontier.
A NEW DEFINITION OF CARE
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines brain health as “the state of brain functioning across cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, behavioral and motor domains, allowing a person to realize their full potential over the life course.” It’s a sweeping redefinition that goes far beyond illness. “Brain wellness is about proactive care,” says Dr Praveen Gupta, chairman of the Marengo Asia International Institute of Neuro and Spine in Gurugram. “It’s not only about managing illness but about maintaining performance, resilience, and preventing decline, starting as early as adolescence.”
The pressures of modern life — prolonged stress, excessive screen exposure, fragmented attention, and disrupted sleep — are fueling digital brain fatigue and even dementia in younger adults. Gupta points to practices like yoga, meditation, digital detoxes, and mindfulness retreats as proven buffers. “In India, we’re seeing rising interest in memory clinics, brain fitness apps, school wellness programs, and community education campaigns,” he says. “Preventive brain care is no longer niche — it’s becoming mainstream.” And nowhere is the shift more visible than in sleep. Once dismissed as lifestyle fluff, sleep health in India is undergoing a quiet revolution.
“Startups and wellness companies are introducing AI-driven sleep ecosystems — from smart mattresses that regulate temperature to contactless trackers that analyze cycles, movement, and snoring,” says Yesha Mehta, a counseling psychologist in Mumbai. Tools for diagnosing disorders like sleep apnea, once rare, are becoming widely available, aided by AI-enabled systems.
The Lancet Commissions on Dementia (2020, 2024) estimate that 30 to 40 percent of dementia cases could be delayed or prevented through comprehensive lifestyle changes. Sleep, Mehta explains, is central. “During deep sleep, the brain clears toxins and consolidates memory of the entire day. Interventions like relaxation practices, following the circadian rhythm, and reducing nighttime screen time have profound long-term effects on the brain.” Parents are also seeking pediatric sleep consultants and structured coaching to instill good habits early. “Sleep is finally being seen as a biological necessity, not a luxury,” Mehta says.
EATING FOR CLARITY
Nutrition remains one of the most underestimated levers of brain health. Adolescence, says wellness scientist Ritesh Bawri, may be the decisive window. “The brain’s governors for stress and behavior mature until around age 17. Nutrition during those years determines how resilient the mind becomes,” he explains. Diets like MIND — a blend of the Mediterranean and DASH approaches — are proven to sharpen cognition. Foods such as leafy greens, olive oil, and avocados support circulation, clear toxins, and sustain clarity.
The gut–brain connection has become impossible to ignore. “We’ve all felt ‘butterflies in the stomach,’ but science shows it’s more than a metaphor,” says Dr Neerja Hajela, head of Science and Regulatory Affairs at Yakult Danone India. The gut microbiome, she notes, directly influences mood, resilience, and memory by shaping neurotransmitters.
Yakult’s research with the Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain found that Japanese medical students consuming the probiotic before exams reported lower cortisol levels, fewer physical symptoms, and better sleep. But Hajela cautions: “Probiotics aren’t magic bullets. Their benefits are maximized only as part of a balanced lifestyle of fiber-rich food, movement, and rest.”
RESILIENCE BEGINS EARLY
A systematic review published in Cureus in May 2024, analyzing nearly 31,000 Indian students, found depression to be the most common mental health issue among adolescents, followed by behavioral problems, anxiety, and social phobia.
The blueprint for resilience, however, begins even earlier. “The first two years are when the brain is developing fastest,” says Rashi Bijlani Tandon, a child and adolescent rehabilitation psychologist, Delhi. Secure attachment, sensory nourishment, and cognitive stimulation, she explains, shape the architecture of a child’s brain. Even prenatal stress can leave marks. She recalls a seven-year-old who developed anxiety from parental conflict at home. “Children can’t separate ‘this is my parents’ stress’ from ‘this is my fault,’” she says. Yet, she stresses, the reverse is also true: calm, consistent care can nurture confidence even in turbulent environments. “Every small response, even eye contact or reassurance when a baby cries, wires resilience into the brain.”
THE DIAGNOSTIC TECH-HORIZON
Brain health diagnostics in India are beginning to parallel cardiac screenings. “We’re seeing more referrals for memory complaints, stroke risk, and post-covid brain fog,” says Dr Harsh Mahajan, founder of Mahajan Imaging & Labs. Advanced tools like MRI volumetry, perfusion scans, tractography, and PET imaging are making early detection possible. “AI can now flag intracranial bleeds in minutes and automate volumetry for suspected dementia,” Mahajan says. Yet access is uneven, with most preventive scans limited to urban centers. “Demand is growing. Brain health is no longer an afterthought.”
Up to 40 percent of dementia risk can be modified through lifestyle, says Dr Vivek Barun of Artemis Hospitals. Alongside diet, sleep, and exercise, new interventions are emerging: structured cognitive training, hearing aids, blood pressure management, and digital therapeutics. Apps like GammaSense and Maintain Your Brain have shown measurable gains in focus and memory, even for genetically at-risk adults. Early-stage drugs targeting brain plaques, brain stimulation therapies like TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) and tDCS (Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation), and digital rehab platforms such as Cogmed are showing promise in slowing decline.
“The next decade will radically reshape how we detect, treat, and prevent (brain) strokes,” says Sharma. “AI-driven imaging can already pinpoint blockages or vulnerable brain tissue within seconds, transforming treatment decisions. Endovascular techniques are becoming safer and faster, expanding clot removal to more patients. On the preventive side, wearable devices that monitor heart rhythms and blood pressure will flag risks like atrial fibrillation before a stroke strikes. Cognitive rehabilitation, too, is evolving — with digital home-based programs, tele-rehab, and neurostimulation offering more personalized recovery. But the true transformation won’t come from technology alone. It will come from ensuring these breakthroughs reach patients everywhere, in time.”
Tanisha Saxena is a Delhi-based independent journalist. She writes stories that are on the intersection of art, culture and lifestyle.