40 Simple Biohacks to Boost Joy While “Sheltering” at Home

Transitioning into the role of stay-at-home-mom was one of the toughest “job changes” I’ve made. After our second daughter was born, I stopped working my home health job to be home full time with our girls.

It was what I’d always wanted, and I felt blessed for the chance to do it. I soon realized that, at times, being home all day could be quite challenging.

With “shelter-in-place” orders in effect almost everywhere, many moms who worked outside the home are currently home all day. 

While staying at home right now is important (for their safety and the safety of others), that doesn’t make the transition for the “sudden-stay-at-home-mom” any easier. 

Before the coronavirus pandemic, women spent about four hours a day on unpaid work, like laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning.

The amount of “to-do’s” at home has now increased. Many moms are finding themselves trying to balance work, homeschooling, housework, and meals, which makes time to themselves – and sleep – much harder to come by. 

Mamas soon find out that they need to “fill up their own cup before they can pour into others.” 

So, given our full plates, how can we boost our joy levels and still feel like ourselves during this time of quarantine?

Here are ways to 40 simple biohacks (using your five senses to change your brain chemistry) to boost your joy levels:

Taste

1. Have a good meal.

2. Drink your favorite herbal tea or hot chocolate (I love Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon & Cardamom Organic Herbal Tea. Bonus: leaving the tea bag in the mug makes the room smell amazing for hours after you drink the tea).

3. Treat yourself to a dessert (Lily’s Chocolate Bars have no added sugar if you’re looking to avoid sugar and are okay with stevia).

4. Put whipped cream on your coffee.

5. Suck on a piece of peppermint candy (YumEarth Organic Wild Peppermint Hard Candy are great and have peppermint essential oils in them).

6. Chew your favorite gum (We chew Glee Gum or PUR gum to avoid aspartame, which can turn into formaldehyde in your brain).

7. Get a bit of special food you don’t usually spend the money on, like freshly squeezed orange juice.

8. Really taste the food you eat; eat one thing mindfully.

Vision

1. Buy one beautiful flower for your kitchen table (or pick wildflowers to avoid the store – we’ve been picking lilacs lately, which make our kitchen smell wonderful).

2. Make a space in your home beautiful (declutter if needed).

3. Light a candle and watch the flame.

4. Set a pretty place at the table, using your best things, for a meal. (Drink hot tea from China tea cups or smoothies from wine glasses).

5. Step outside and watch the nature around you.

6. Get up early (or stay up late) and watch the stars.

7. Fix your nails so they look pretty.

8. Look at the beautiful pictures in a book or old photographs.

Hearing

1. Listen to beautiful or soothing music, or to invigorating and exciting music. (Make a “happy music” playlist or do a YouTube search for “happy music”).

2. Pay attention to sounds of nature (birds, rainfall, rustling leaves).

3. Sing to your favorite song (We’ve been singing “It is Well” by Bethel Music lately. And parts of “I Want to Break Free” by Queen occasionally as a joke).

4. Hum a soothing tune.

5. Learn to play an instrument.

6. Call up a friend and listen.

7. Call up an elderly family member (or elderly friend) and listen.

8. Wear ear plugs and welcome the quiet (when our girls are upset or too loud at home, I put on my noise-reducing headphones and find I am instantly calmer when helping them).

Smell

1. Use your favorite perfume or lotion.

2. Diffuse an essential oil or light a scented candle.

3. Boil cinnamon.

4. Bake cookies, cake, or bread.

5. Cook bacon with your meal.

6. Smell a flower.

7. Step outside and mindfully breathe in the smells of nature.

8. Put a drop of essential oil on your hand, cup them around your nose, and breathe deeply.

Touch

1. Take a bubble bath.

2. Put clean sheets on the bed.

3. Pet your dog or cat (if you have one).

4. Soak your feet (use essential oils if possible).

5. Put creamy lotion on your whole body.

6. Wet a wash cloth with warm water, put a drop of essential oils on it, and rub it over your body (use peppermint for a big time pick-me-up).

7. Sink into a really comfortable chair in your home.

8. Hug someone (hold the hug for at least 6 seconds for oxytocin’s ”relaxing effect” to kick in.)

Most of these things take minutes to do, but can make a big difference in your life satisfaction levels. 

If you’re feeling you could use a “joy boost” these days, commit to incorporating several into your day. They just might provide the “pick-me-up” you’ve been needing.