When you’re a mom with millions of to-dos, it’s easy to fall into the same wellness routines because they’re usually simpler to manage that way. However, fascinating research has shown that changing up your habits has a positive impact on your cognition, mood, creativity, energy levels, how you relate to others, and more. Taking care of yourself is not a trend that will go out of style. Especially since, as moms, we’re often the ones being gently reminded that we can’t take care of others until we take care of ourselves. And no matter what your current healthy habits are, there might be a new one out there that adds a breath of fresh air to your life.
When it comes to the latest wellness trends for moms, it’s all about personalization, holistic health, and self-worth. If you know you’ve been a bit too ingrained in your routines for taking care of yourself and your family and could use some inspiration for freshening them up, we’ve got you covered. Here are 15 refreshing wellness trends that are perfect for moms and offer enough versatility to sustain your well-being as the year goes on.
1. Return to a hobby you love
Once upon a time, you likely had personal pursuits that made you come alive. Whether it was cooking tasty recipes, expressing yourself artistically, engaging in sports and fitness, or the like, you carved out time to do something for yourself. While you might have sent a bittersweet farewell to these hobbies when you became a mom, who says you have to?
Maybe you can’t pour your whole self into them the same way you used to, but perhaps this can be the year you reintegrate a hobby you love into your life in a new way. Instead, try devoting a specific day of the month to it, inviting your child to do it with you (age-allowing), lightening your expectations of how elaborately you do it, etc. Rather than mirror the way it used to be, the ultimate goal is to re-infuse your life with the essence of that hobby that you once counted on to bring you joy.
2. Go deeper with your mom friends
As a society, we’re in a place where social superficiality is easier to come by than ever. Between scrolling and the like button to posting to our social media and assuming the people we care about will get the updates about our lives that way, there are many reasons to feel less inclined toward more meaningful conversations with friends.
Rather than settle for less meaningful interactions, try making a point to have deeper conversations with your friends. There are plenty of topics to talk about that can leave you feeling seen, nourished, and connected in ways that social media is missing. Not sure you have much time to get together with your closest mom friends in person? Some of the best conversations can be discovered through phone calls or more thoughtful text messaging. And if you’re still waiting to find that perfect mom friend or two, she’s out there—here are some tips for finding her!
3. Try a new supplement or two
You may have your tried-and-true vitamins, probiotics, or beverage mix-ins, but our bodies thrive on novelty, too. Just like doing the exact same workout every day for years would strengthen your body’s same muscles and systems while leaving out others, your body can grow accustomed to taking the same supplement(s). Be sure to check with your care provider first if you’re unsure of whether or not a particular supplement is right for you. Here are a few ideas to refresh your supply of supplements.
- Mushrooms: they’re all the craze for their immune-boosting and stress-relieving benefits—try a mushroom powder mix-in, it complements coffee or hot cocoa especially well.
- Adaptogens: they’re helpful for managing your body’s stress response—try blending maca root or ashwagandha, popular adaptogens, into your next smoothie.
- Magnesium: it can be a calming supplement for relaxation—try winding down with a magnesium-based capsule or beverage powder at the end of a busy day.
If you’re extra loyal to the types of supplements you use (i.e., taking a multivitamin or probiotic capsule every day), even trying a new brand that meets your standards for quality can count as ‘new.’ Then, whether it’s a new brand or introducing a supplement you’ve never tried before, you can stay attuned to how you feel following the switch. Notice any positive changes? If so, it could be just the reminder you need that changing up your supplement habits every so often can enhance your body’s relationship with them.
4. Reduce your caffeine and/or alcohol consumption
If trends like the sober curious movement or ditching caffeine for more sustained energy throughout the day have your attention, it could be time to answer the call. Often, it’s the rituals themselves associated with our morning coffee or evening drink that hold more sway on us than the beverages themselves. If you’d like to explore what it’s like to detox from alcohol or lower your caffeine intake, there are plenty of trending helpful guides to support you. Alongside learning about what’s helped others change up their drinking habits, you don’t have to look far to find delicious coffee and alcohol alternatives like matcha, chai, healthy hot cocoa, or mocktails to sip on during your a.m. or p.m. beverage routines.
It also helps to remember that you don’t have to go cold turkey—if you’re used to multiple cups of coffee, start by eliminating one; if you’re used to having a drink a few nights a week, stick to the weekends. By giving your body a chance to adapt and replace what it’s used to with satisfying alternatives, you might be pleasantly surprised by how you feel upon doing so.
5. Lighten your mental load and try the Fair Play method
More and more moms are speaking up about the hidden time- and energy-depleting work of their mental load. It’s a load you can—and should—share with your support system for the sake of replenishing your own well-being, even if you enjoy being the default parent. For those unfamiliar, the mental load is the often invisible extra considerations you have to make for the more obvious work of managing your household to get done smoothly. For instance, preparing meals or going to the supermarket are the obvious tasks, but the meal planning, grocery list writing, and understanding of your child’s nutritional needs, likes and dislikes, etc. that go into those tasks are equally demanding.
Feel like you’re carrying the excessive burden of the mental load? Perhaps it’s finally time to take action. If you co-parent or live in a partnered household, the trending Fair Play method is a positive solution definitely worth trying. Between the book Fair Play by Eve Rodsky and the Fair Play cards she designed to go with it, you’re given down-to-earth approaches for reflecting on the actual division of labor in your household and mapping it out more fairly. It’s the chance to have honest conversations with your partner, validate the work you each do, and redistribute in ways that feel fair and manageable.
6. Get to know yourself in new ways with the Enneagram or Love Languages
There are lots of fun and interesting tools that can help you learn about yourself from a new perspective or on a deeper level. You could try taking the Enneagram test to find out what your parenting style is. Or, figure out what your love language is to discover new ways of connecting with your partner or children. You might find it enlightening to take a personality test or learn more about your astrology sign and see what rings true for you. Spending time keeping a ‘journal of days’ or gratitude list can also spark new insights and patterns about your life and what you appreciate most. There are so many ways to creatively infuse an extra layer of quick reflection into your life and cultivate a loving relationship with yourself and, by extension, others.
7. Prioritize your sleep just as much as your kids’
Spend time with any cranky kid, and chances are they’re just in need of some extra shuteye. That’s why as parents, we know how crucial it is to ensure our kids adopt good sleep habits. Well, and because sleep is good for their well-being, of course! That being said, for as much emphasis as we place on encouraging our children to have successful sleeping habits, prioritizing our own tends to fall short. Having your own bedtime routine is just as important for your health. Better sleep can equate to better physical health, an improved mood, more clarity, and other restorative benefits. It’s time to start practicing what you preach by not staying up past your bedtime!
8. Try a digital detox challenge
Surely the thought of one has crossed your mind. Choosing to do a family digital detox or one of your own can be an impactful way to update your relationship with your phone, television, or other personal devices. It could be anything from limiting your social media time to skipping your wellness trackers to spending less time streaming movies and TV shows. Ultimately, it’s about having the overarching intention to change up your relationship with your devices. What this can do is present you with freed-up time and mental space to bond differently with your loved ones, try new activities you’ve tucked away on your ‘someday’ list, or simply see your life from a different angle. It can be empowering to remember that at the end of the day, we’re the ones who control where our attention—and in turn, our energy—goes, not the other way around.
9. Have a dawn date
If you’re in a relationship, you don’t have to wait for nighttime for romantic date inspiration to strike—mornings are always a nice option, too. Besides, sometimes a date night can feel cliché anyway, or you’re just trying to get to sleep on the earlier side. While planning dates in general can be tricky when you’re a parent, a bit of extra coordination can go a long way for relationship care. As far as mornings go, you might not be able to get away from the house, but that certainly doesn’t have to stop you! Whether it’s having an awakening spa or massage session, cooking an early breakfast, or connecting over conversation and coffee together, all it takes is a little foresight and creativity to make a magical morning date happen.
10. Find an at-home workout that calls to you, like cozy cardio or fitness for moms
When you’re a busy parent, it’s easy to forgo workouts completely when leaving your house for a stretch of time to do them isn’t possible. But now, it’s the era of personalized health and fitness routines, so why not try hopping on this trend with a new at-home workout or two? More than ever, we have access to a myriad of creative online classes and workouts that can be done from the comforts of your home. They can jive with exactly what you’re in the mood for, the amount of time you have, and how much energy you’d like to exert. From custom AI-generated workout plans and unique routines like cozy cardio to fitness channels catered to moms and parents, there’s something to motivate everyone to stay active.
11. Incorporate habits that prioritize your longevity
Quick hacks that offer short-term health benefits, like specific diet crazes or bouts of high-intensity workouts, are often unsustainable over long periods of time. More and more, health and wellness experts are focusing on lifestyle choices that promote your longevity instead. Essentially, it’s about making the quality of your life your priority: getting enough sleep, eating a wholesome diet, prioritizing bonding time with loved ones, being proactive about healthcare, or staying active even when lounging around on a screen seems most appealing.
While all of this can seem rather obvious and intuitive, we can all attest to the fact that it’s not always that possible to do all of these things—especially when it’s all at once, over a lifetime. But why not contribute to your longevity how you can, piece by piece? Suggest a game night rather than your usual family couch and TV session. Try swapping in some vegetarian meals each week. Schedule your next wellness exam ahead of time. Go walking with a mom friend you’ve been meaning to reach out to. It’s finding that sweet spot between doing what feels good in the moment but also what’s going to nurture the foundations of your physical and emotional health for the long run. For more about longevity, learning about the healthy habits of people living in the Blue Zones can be a great place to start.
12. Plan a relaxed travel getaway
It goes by various names—relaxed travel, slow travel, travel for wellness, etc.—but it’s all pointing to the same vacation style: low-key and restorative. In other words, everything that a Disney vacation isn’t. Traveling for mellow pleasures and uplifted wellness is trending, and of anybody, moms are most deserving of such a getaway.
Go ahead and adventure on that Disney trip if it’s been on your agenda for this year, but it might also be worth finding the time—if you can swing it—to indulge in a slower-paced vacation to balance it out. You could try having a solo getaway, taking a couples trip to a serene beach, or heading on a girls’ spa trip to a charming new city. Many accommodations are well aware of the wellness travel trend and are offering ultra-rejuvenating amenities, like enhanced sleeping arrangements or nature-inspired offerings, to fully immerse you in it. It could happen months or a year from now, but you can start deciding what your ideal recipe for wellness away from home would look and feel like and dream weave it into your reality from there.
13. Befriend ChatGPT for time-saving hacks
There’s an abundance of new AI-based technology with the potential to manage rote tasks and gather knowledge in different ways. A resource like ChatGPT—basically an interactive chatbot—is able to entertain just about any question you have or task you’d like assistance with. Besides offering fantastic hacks for parents, it can open you up to new approaches to how you seek solutions. Need a new story to tell at bedtime? Or how about cost-effective party planning tips for your next event? ChatGPT can be the storyteller or party planner who saves you precious time and energy. While it’s always important to cross-check references for anything you’re researching that’s sensitive or high stakes, it’s still a helpful alternative to information that can put you in touch with this generation’s newfound presence of AI.
14. Rearrange your favorite living spaces
Have you been staring at furniture and wall décor that has been in the same place for years? Sometimes, just changing up how and where items are positioned in your home can do wonders for a brightened perspective. Maybe it’s the way a certain desk, couch, or bed faces or where a play space or toy box is located. Or, maybe it’s placing your favorite pieces of artwork (or your child’s artwork!) in different lines of sight. Yes, it may take some trial and error and a helping hand or two. But if you embrace the changes as an effort to revitalize the way you and your family relate to your living spaces, it can breathe new life into the concept of home sweet home.
15. Don’t forget your mind-body connection
If you feel like you spend a lot of time in ‘doing’ mode without much space for your thoughts and feelings to catch up, or vice versa, it might be worth allowing yourself space to align your mind with your body. Most conversations around physical health today are coupled with how we’re taking care of our mental health and understanding the role our emotions, thoughts, and beliefs play in it.
For instance, our minds need touchstones like gratitude, ambitions, or self-compassion to thrive, while our bodies need touch, movement, and nourishment. Begin to reflect on whether you’re feeling more of a void in your emotional landscape or your body, and try incorporating a self-care activity or two that can help bring those parts of yourself into balance.
For your mind, consider trying a mindful morning routine, noticing the glimmers in your life, or scheduling more ‘me time.’ For your body, you could tackle healthier eating habits, create an atmosphere for closeness with your partner, or ground yourself with pelvic floor exercises. A newfound sense of harmony might not take shape overnight, but small doses of repeated nourishment for your mind or body over time are usually the key to feeling more connected to yourself.
