Biohacking: From Free to Fancy
- Natalie Wescott
- Oct 23
- 13 min read
Updated: Oct 23
A biohack is simply a way to support your body by working smarter, not harder. It’s about understanding how your body functions and making small, intentional changes that help it perform the way it was designed to. Biohacking isn’t just for people with expensive gadgets or access to wellness clinics, it can start with simple habits that anyone can do from home!
At its core, biohacking means tuning into your body’s signals instead of fighting them. It’s about optimizing biology like your hormones, nervous system, and cells to work with you instead of against you. Whether it’s getting morning sunlight, practicing breathwork, or exploring therapies like red light or peptides, each “hack” is really just a way to restore balance and efficiency to systems that modern life tends to disrupt.
When done intentionally, biohacking can improve energy, sleep, focus, mood, and overall resilience by supporting your body’s natural ability to heal, repair, and adapt. It’s the bridge between holistic living and evidence-based science and it doesn’t have to be complicated.
This post is a collaboration between Natalie (@naturalmamanurse), an ER nurse turned holistic mama, and Kristin (@holisticnursekristin), a fellow nurse and integrative health practitioner who helps women optimize wellness through root-cause healing and lifestyle medicine. Together, we’ve seen both sides, the science and the simplicity, and we believe that true health starts with understanding how your body works, not just trying to fix it when it breaks.
Here are 18 biohacks, from completely free daily habits to advanced therapies, that can help you feel your best from the inside out.
1. Morning Sunlight: free!
Our circadian rhythm, the body’s natural 24-hour clock, is deeply influenced by light. Getting sunlight in your eyes (not through a window or sunglasses) within the first hour of waking signals to your brain that it’s daytime. This helps regulate hormones like cortisol (your get-up-and-go hormone) and melatonin (your sleep hormone).
Benefits: Exposure to natural light early in the day boosts energy, improves mood, enhances focus, and helps you fall asleep more easily at night. It also supports healthy serotonin levels, which can improve overall mental health.
Tips & Tricks: Step outside for 10-20 minutes within an hour of waking. Even on cloudy days, natural light is far more powerful than indoor lighting. Pair this with movement like walking your kids to the bus stop or sipping coffee on the porch to get bonus benefits.
Mom-Life Application: It’s one of the easiest “free” mood boosters for tired moms. If mornings feel chaotic, open your blinds wide or stand outside while your kids eat breakfast. I’ve been trying to make it a habit to head straight outside with my kids as soon as we wake up, letting them soak up a few minutes of morning sunlight and get grounded right away before we start our day
For more information on circadian rhythm, read this blog post: The Science of Circadian Rhythm: How to Reset Your Body Naturally
2. Breathwork: free!
Your breath is one of the most powerful tools you have to influence your nervous system. Slow, intentional breathing activates the parasympathetic “rest and digest” response, which helps counter the constant fight-or-flight state so many of us live in.
Benefits: Breathwork can lower stress hormones, decrease heart rate and blood pressure, improve focus, and even support better digestion and sleep. Deep breathing oxygenates your cells and signals to your body that you are safe.
Tips & Tricks: Start with a simple 4-6 breathing pattern: inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds. Try it for 5-10 minutes once or twice daily, maybe during naptime or before bed.
Mom-Life Application: When you feel overstimulated by noise, clutter, or chaos take 10 slow breaths before reacting. It’s one of the fastest ways to reset your body and mind.
3. Daily Movement (Zone 2 Exercise): free!
Movement is medicine. Low to moderate-intensity exercise (known as Zone 2) keeps your heart strong and your mitochondria efficient. You don’t need a gym membership. Consistent movement throughout your day is what matters most.
Benefits: Improves cardiovascular health, insulin sensitivity, lymphatic flow, and mental health. Gentle movement reduces inflammation and boosts mitochondrial resilience.
Tips & Tricks: Take short walks after meals, stretch while your kids play, or park farther from the store. Aim for 7,000-10,000 steps a day, but don’t let the numbers overwhelm you, movement is cumulative.
Mom-Life Application: Turn your daily tasks into movement: dance while cleaning, take a family walk after dinner, chase your toddlers in the yard.
4. Strength Training: free to $
Muscle isn’t just for aesthetics. It regulates blood sugar, hormones, and longevity. Strength training preserves lean mass as we age and supports healthy joints and bones. As we age, strength training becomes more important.
Benefits: Builds strength, stabilizes mood through endorphins, boosts metabolism, and helps prevent injury. Muscle also supports blood sugar balance, which means fewer energy crashes and cravings.
Tips & Tricks: Focus on functional movements like squats, pushups, or resistance band work. Two to three short sessions per week can make a huge difference.
If you’re just getting started, I recommend checking out Caroline Girvan’s YouTube workouts. Her Iron program is an excellent place to begin and easy to follow from home. Her workouts are free, and the equipment needed is minimal.
Mom-Life Application: Baby-wearing, lifting car seats, and carrying groceries is strength training! Lifting intentionally makes daily movement easier.
5. Sleep Optimization & Blue Light Blocking: free to $
Sleep is when your body repairs, detoxifies, balances hormones, and resets for the next day. Unfortunately, modern lighting and screens trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime, delaying melatonin release.
Benefits: Quality sleep improves immune function, mental clarity, metabolism, and mood. When you protect your circadian rhythm, your energy and focus during the day improve dramatically.
Tips & Tricks: Create a bedtime routine: dim lights after sunset, use amber bulbs or blue-light blocking glasses, and keep your bedroom cool and dark. Avoid scrolling at night; even “night mode” can disrupt melatonin.
I love these because they can be switched between full light for daytime, yellow light for evening, and amber light for nighttime.
If you are using screens after the sun goes down (not ideal, but let's be real), wearing blue light blocking glasses can help to decrease exposure from the screens.
Mom-Life Application: Try dimming the house lights after the sun goes down. It signals everyone’s body that it’s time to wind down.
6. Hydration & Minerals: free to $
Hydration isn’t just about drinking water, it’s about balance. Without electrolytes (minerals like sodium, magnesium, and potassium), water can’t get into your cells properly.
Benefits: Adequate hydration supports digestion, energy, detoxification, and brain function. Minerals help maintain fluid balance, prevent fatigue, and support muscle recovery.
Tips & Tricks: Add a pinch of Celtic or Himalayan salt to your water. Sip throughout the day instead of chugging all at once. Coconut water or homemade electrolyte mixes are great natural options.
Needed Hydration Support: link gives 20% off
Earthley electrolyte powder: Natalie10off for 10% off
Hydrogen water helps your body fight oxidative stress, boost energy, and support whole-body healing from the inside out.
Mom-Life Application: If you’re nursing, pregnant, or sweating often, your mineral needs are higher. Keep a reusable bottle nearby and add electrolytes during busy or stressful days.
7. Nasal Breathing (and Mouth Taping): free to $
Breathing through your nose filters, warms, and humidifies air, supporting optimal oxygen exchange. It also increases nitric oxide, which improves circulation and lowers blood pressure.
Benefits: Encourages better sleep quality, supports lung function, and reduces snoring. Nasal breathing even helps your body stay in a calmer state.
Tips & Tricks: Practice nasal breathing during the day, especially when exercising. Some people tape their mouth lightly at night to encourage nasal breathing (use caution and gentle, breathable tape).
This one is hypoallergenic, latex-free. Also allows for drinking through a straw at night
Mom-Life Application: Pay attention to your child’s breathing while they’re resting or asleep. If you notice they consistently breathe through their mouth instead of their nose, it may be a sign to look into further support.
8. Grounding & Earthing: free to $
Walking barefoot on natural surfaces or using grounding mats helps your body connect to the Earth’s electrical charge. The theory is that this contact helps balance your body’s electrical state and reduce inflammation.
Benefits: May support better sleep, calmness, reduced pain, and lower stress levels. Studies suggest grounding can positively affect cortisol rhythms and inflammation markers.
For more information on the benefits of grounding, read this post: The Grounded Truth: What Science Says About Earthing
Tips & Tricks: Spend 10-20 minutes a day barefoot on grass, soil, or sand. If you can’t get outdoors, grounding sheets and mats allow for similar effects indoors (as long as they’re safely grounded).
Grounding sheets or mat: https://www.groundingwell.com/GWNATALIE10
GWNATALIE10 for 10% off!
Using sheets or mats allow you to get the benefit of grounding while inside or while sleeping!
Mom-Life Application: Let your kids play barefoot and join them! It’s one of the easiest ways to de-stress, reconnect, and support your own body.
9. Magnesium (Oral & Topical): $
Magnesium is involved in over 300 processes in the body including nerve function, muscle relaxation, hormone regulation, and energy production. Most people are deficient due to soil depletion and stress.
Benefits: Supports restful sleep, muscle recovery, and relaxation. Helps reduce headaches, anxiety, and PMS symptoms.
Tips & Tricks: Take magnesium glycinate or malate orally, especially in the evening. For sensitive stomachs, try topical forms like sprays or lotions, which absorb through the skin.
Magnesium lotion: Natalie10off for 10% off
Magnesium spray: NMN10 for 10% off
Mom-Life Application: Apply magnesium cream to your legs or belly before bed. It’s an easy way to wind down and improve sleep quality after long, busy days. You also can safely use a small amount on children if they have had a rough day or are ill.
10. Coffee Enemas: $
Though controversial, coffee enemas have been used for decades in alternative medicine. The caffeine stimulates bile flow and glutathione production, both crucial for detoxification.
Benefits: Supports the body’s natural detoxification processes by helping cleanse the liver and promote healthy digestion. It can naturally boost glutathione levels, the body’s master antioxidant, which plays a key role in reducing symptoms of toxicity and supporting overall cellular health. By aiding in the removal of waste and toxins from the colon, it may help eliminate parasites, relieve bloating, and improve digestive function. Many people also experience increased energy, mental clarity, and even clearer skin. Additionally, the caffeine component can dilate blood vessels and relax muscles, offering pain relief and releasing endorphins that leave you feeling more balanced and refreshed.
Tips & Tricks: Always use organic coffee and sterile equipment. Be sure to read instructions and let the coffee cool before use.
Mom-Life Application: A reset tool for moms feeling sluggish or toxic.
11. Cold Therapy: Free to $$
Cold exposure activates brown fat (which burns energy for heat) and triggers a healthy stress response at a mitochondrial level that makes your body more resilient. These benefits can be achieved through cold showers or cold plunges
Benefits: Improves circulation, boosts mood, reduces inflammation, and may support metabolism. Cold exposure increases dopamine and norepinephrine which are natural “feel-good” neurotransmitters.
Tips & Tricks: Start by ending your shower with 30 seconds of cold water and gradually work up to a few minutes. Breathing steadily helps your body adapt.
Mom-Life Application: A quick cold shower after a long night or an energy crash can wake you up better than caffeine.
Supporting Studies:
12. IV Nutrient Therapy: $-$$
IV drips deliver vitamins, minerals, and fluids directly into the bloodstream for rapid absorption.
Benefits: Quickly rehydrates, replenishes nutrients, and supports recovery from illness, travel, or burnout.
Tips & Tricks: Choose a reputable clinic with medical oversight. “Test don’t guess”. It’s great to test for vitamin and mineral deficiencies so you know what to add to your IV drip. Try a few vitamins or minerals at a time so you can learn what your body responds well to
Mom-Life Application: Helpful for moms who feel depleted after illness, breastfeeding, or long-term stress.
Supporting Studies:
13. Red Light Therapy: $$
A phototherapy technique that uses low-power red and near-infrared light to stimulate cellular energy production (ATP) without heating or damaging the skin. By activating the mitochondria, this therapy helps recharge and optimize cellular function.
Benefits: Red light therapy can reduce inflammation, support wound and tissue healing, improve skin tone and texture, and promote muscle recovery. It may also relieve pain, enhance thyroid and hormone balance, and boost overall energy and mental clarity. Some users even report clearer skin and improved mood.
Tips & Tricks: Choose a high-quality device that emits wavelengths around 630-660 nm (red) and 810-850 nm (near-infrared). Position the panel about 6-12 inches from your skin and use it for 5-15 minutes per area, several times per week. Consistency matters more than duration, so start slow and increase gradually as tolerated. Avoid unregulated DIY lasers, and track how you feel. Changes in skin, pain, sleep, or energy can help guide your ideal routine.
Mom-Life Application: Perfect for postpartum recovery, sore muscles, or minor injuries. It’s safe for children to use as well! Whether you’re easing tension from nursing, healing after birth, or just wanting a quick energy boost, a few minutes of red light can be a simple, effective addition to your family’s wellness routine.
Supporting Studies:
14. Sauna: $-$$
Exposure to high heat that raises core temperature and induces sweating and cardiovascular responses. Regular sauna use mimics the effects of exercise — raising heart rate, improving circulation, and promoting detoxification through sweat.
Benefits: Studies link regular sauna bathing with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, improved blood pressure, and reduced inflammation markers. It may improve circulation and cardiovascular health, relieve pain and inflammation, boost energy, increase immune function, and increase your quality of sleep.
Tips & Tricks:
Start with 5-10 minutes if new and build up to 15-20 minutes
Hydrate before/after
Pair with a binder to maximize detoxing effects
Electrolytes are great to drink post session
Mom-Life Application: If you’re feeling tense or achy, a sauna session can feel like therapy for both body and mind.
Supporting Studies:
15. Ozone Therapy: $$
Medical ozone is a therapeutic blend of oxygen (O₂) and ozone (O₃) used to improve cellular oxygen utilization, enhance immune balance, and promote healing throughout the body. It works by increasing oxygen delivery to tissues and stimulating the body’s own antioxidant and repair systems. Ozone therapy can be administered in several ways, including intravenously (IV), rectally, vaginally, or through the ears, depending on the condition being addressed and the practitioner’s recommendation.
Benefits: Ozone therapy may help reduce chronic inflammation, support detoxification, and enhance blood flow and oxygen delivery to tissues. Many people report improvements in fatigue, brain fog, and pain. It is especially those with chronic infections, autoimmune conditions, or toxic exposures. By improving mitochondrial efficiency, ozone can also help increase energy production at a cellular level, supporting overall vitality and resilience.
Tips & Tricks: Dosages and delivery methods are key to both safety and effectiveness. Overexposure or improper administration can cause unwanted side effects such as irritation or oxidative stress. For home treatments like rectal or ear insufflation, follow medical-grade guidelines, use sterile equipment, and start at the lowest concentrations recommended by your provider. Consistency is often more beneficial than intensity.
Mom-Life Application: For mothers dealing with chronic fatigue, postpartum inflammation, mold toxicity, or autoimmune challenges under professional care, ozone therapy can be an advanced tool to explore as part of a comprehensive healing plan. It’s not a first-line therapy but may serve as a powerful adjunct to lifestyle measures like proper nutrition, detox support, and stress management.
16. Peptide Therapy: $$$
Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, that act as powerful messengers in the body. They communicate with cells to influence a wide range of biological functions, including metabolism, hormone signaling, immune response, tissue repair, and the aging process. Because peptides naturally occur in the body, peptide therapy works by supplementing or mimicking those same compounds to optimize cellular communication and restore balance.
Benefits: Different peptides serve different purposes. Some help increase collagen and elastin production for healthier skin and joints, while others can enhance immune resilience or accelerate recovery from injury. Certain peptides can support lean muscle growth, fat metabolism, improved energy levels, or restorative sleep. In some clinical settings, peptides are also used to support thyroid function, balance sex hormones, or enhance cognitive performance. This is all by working at a cellular level to restore the body’s natural signaling pathways.
Tips & Tricks: Because peptide therapy is highly individualized, it’s important to work with a knowledgeable practitioner who understands peptide selection, dosing, and cycling. Overuse or incorrect combinations can lead to hormonal imbalances or reduced effectiveness over time. Start slowly, monitor your body’s response, and follow structured cycles that allow the body to reset between treatments. Peptides can be delivered through subcutaneous injections, oral capsules, nasal sprays, or topical creams, depending on the specific peptide and goal.
Mom-Life Application: For moms seeking advanced, evidence-based support for hormone balance, postpartum recovery, skin health, or healthy aging, peptides can be a powerful tool when used under medical supervision.
17. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT): $$$
HBOT, or Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, involves breathing 100% pure oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. This increased pressure allows oxygen to dissolve more efficiently into the bloodstream and reach tissues that may be deprived due to injury, inflammation, or illness. The result is an oxygen “flood” that supports the body’s natural healing and repair mechanisms at the cellular level. This can be offered in a professional setting, though some people have HBOT chambers in their homes.
Benefits: Can stimulate tissue regeneration, reduce inflammation, enhance immune response, and improve circulation. It has long been used in medical settings to treat conditions like non-healing wounds, carbon monoxide poisoning, and decompression sickness, but growing research supports its benefits for general wellness and brain health as well. Many people report improved cognitive clarity, better focus, and faster recovery after illness or injury.
Tips & Tricks: Use HBOT under professional supervision in a licensed facility to ensure proper pressure calibration and safety. Sessions typically last between 60 and 90 minutes and may be done several times per week depending on your health goals. Stay hydrated before and after, and discuss any ear or sinus issues with your provider before beginning, as pressure changes can affect these areas.
Mom-Life Application: For moms recovering from surgery, dealing with chronic fatigue, long-term inflammation, or post-concussion symptoms, HBOT can be a restorative therapy to explore under medical guidance.
Supporting Studies:
18. Stem Cell Therapy: $$$
Stem cells are the body’s raw materials: cells that can turn into many different tissue types. In therapy, they’re used to repair or regenerate damaged tissues.
Benefits: Promising for joint pain, injury recovery, and inflammation. It’s at the frontier of regenerative medicine.
Tips & Tricks: Only seek treatment from clinics using ethically sourced stem cells.
Mom-Life Application: This is the top-tier, high-cost option, something to consider only after foundational health is strong.
Final Thoughts
Biohacking isn’t about doing all the things. It’s about tuning into what your body needs most right now. Start with the basics: sunlight, movement, sleep, hydration. These are free and incredibly powerful. Once those are second nature, you can layer in the deeper tools: red light, sauna, IV therapy, and beyond in a way that supports your health goals and lifestyle.
Remember: your body is designed to heal. Sometimes it just needs the right environment and a little intentional support to do what it was created to do.
**Not medical advice
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