As a busy mom, it can be easy for your own health and well-being to end up on the back burner. Trying to manage your never-ending to-do list and keep up with little ones on the go, often means your health ends up low on the priority list.

But luckily, prioritizing your physical and mental health doesn’t have to take a ton of time or energy. Here are 7 simple health hacks to help busy moms like you squeeze in some much-needed self-care.

1. Stay Hydrated

Being dehydrated can affect your body before you even know you're thirsty and may leave you with a headache, lack of energy, and feeling fatigued.

Tracking the amount of water you drink throughout the day is a simple way to prevent dehydration. A good rule of thumb is to consume half your body weight in ounces of water each day. So for example, if you weigh 160 pounds, aim for about 80 ounces of water every single day.

Caffeine and sugar can also negatively impact your hydration levels[1, 2]. This is because they act as diuretics, increasing the amount of water expelled from the body.

Passing on the soda and sugary drinks like juice or sweet tea will go a long way in keeping you hydrated and healthy.

And since giving up daily caffeine is not something most busy moms would volunteer for, an easy way to mitigate caffeine's dehydrating effects is to drink one extra cup of water for each cup of coffee you consume.

2. Get Your Steps In

You don’t have to spend time at the gym to reap the benefits of physical activity. An easy way to incorporate more movement into your life is to simply go for a walk.

Going for regular walks is one of the best and easiest things you can do for your health. And walking is not only good for your physical health—it is also a proven meditative activity. The repetitive rhythm and motion of taking steps helps clear your head while lowering the stress response in the body and lowering your cortisol levels.

Walking is free, easy to do, and simple to incorporate more of into your life. So take the kids on a nature walk, leash up the dog and go around the block, take the stairs instead of the elevator, take a couple of laps around the office during your break—just squeeze in some extra steps each day.

3. Get Enough Sleep

As a mom, sleep can feel like a luxury. And while there may be certain seasons in life when getting a good night's sleep is just a far off dream (like when you have a newborn), poor sleep habits should not become a norm.

Try getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. If you can’t adjust your wake-up time, try getting to bed a little earlier.

The quality of your sleep also has a massive impact on how rested you feel. Some tips for maximizing the hours you spend sleeping include:

• Keep your room dark and cool

• Use a fan or white noise to drown out outside noise

• Turn off electronics at least 30 minutes before bed

• Avoid heavy meals, caffeine, or nicotine a few hours before bedtime

• Stick to a consistent sleep schedule

• Create a soothing pre-sleep routine (things like taking a bath, reading a book, or doing some relaxing yoga)

4. Clean up Your Diet

Eating healthy does not mean you have to live off dry chicken and bland veggies. There are plenty of ways to get your daily dose of nutrients without depriving yourself or choking down boring food.

• Learn to cook a few healthy meals you enjoy.

• Pack a lunch and have healthy snacks on hand so you don’t end up running to the vending machine.

• Plan out a weekly healthy menu

• Skip the soda, sugar-filled lattes, and other sweet drinks, and sip on water instead.

• Make healthy swaps in your favorite dishes like subbing spaghetti squash for pasta noodles or a lettuce wrapped burger instead of a bun

Focusing on consuming whole, real food the majority of the time will move your health goals forward by miles.

5. Take a Magnesium Supplement

Magnesium is arguably one of the most important minerals in the body. And most of us aren’t getting enough of it. Between soil depletion, the prevalence of digestive issues like leaky gut syndrome, and high-stress lifestyles, it’s no wonder that most of us have low levels of magnesium. In fact, studies have found that nearly 75% of the American population is deficient in Magnesium[3].

Taking a low dose of magnesium (300-400 mg) at night before bed will help you get a restful nights sleep and help keep your levels in check.

6. Take a Probiotic

Did you know that in the average human body, bacterial cells significantly outnumber human cells?

While you might associate the word bacteria with harmful germs, certain bacteria are actually essential for health.

A large number of the bacteria in your body reside in your gut and are considered “good” bacteria. When the balance between “good” bacteria and “bad” bacteria gets out of whack, it can wreak havoc on your overall health. Taking a high-quality probiotic helps maintain that delicate balance by reintroducing beneficial bacteria into your digestive tract.

Things to look for in a good probiotic include:

• High-quality brand: Look for an established, reputable brand that has high rated customer reviews.

• Diversity: There are a number of strains of probiotics available. Look for supplements that have a diversity of strains to colonize the gut.

• Living cultures: Look for supplements that say “live and active cultures” as opposed to “made with active cultures”.

7. Meditate

When life is hectic and you’ve got a million things to do, it can seem counterproductive to slam on the brakes and basically “do nothing” for a while. But the busier and more stressed you are, the more you need meditation.

The benefits of meditation are numerous and well documented. Meditation helps [4]:

• Control and minimize stress and anxiety

• Improves emotional health

• Sharpens focus

• Controls cravings and impulses

• Lowers blood pressure

• Promotes happiness and stronger relationships

• Improves sleep

• And more

If you're tight on time, even 5 minutes of daily meditation can be immensely valuable.

If you find traditional meditation challenging, try guided meditation or movement meditation (like walking or coloring). The point is to spend a few minutes each day being fully present and allowing your thoughts to “float” by and not get tangled up in them.

Start Small and Start Today

It can be easy to get sucked into the trap of thinking you need to make drastic changes to be healthy. But small steps add up and are much easier to stick to.

Your health is an investment and allows you to show up as the best version of you—today and in the future. Focus on adding in small, realistic, and sustainable habits that support your overall health.

Even tiny shifts in your daily habits can have a huge impact. So start small, and start today.