{"id":9260,"date":"2022-05-10T10:45:59","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T10:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/?p=9260"},"modified":"2023-04-17T16:15:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T16:15:12","slug":"does-ashwagandha-help-relieve-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/does-ashwagandha-help-relieve-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Ashwagandha Help Relieve Stress?"},"content":{"rendered":"Between your job, your family and your everyday responsibilities, stress is inevitable. Left unchecked, it can make you feel like you\u2019re about to burst into flames. This is because your body responds to stress by going into \u201cflight or fight\u201d mode, an ancient threat response that preps your body for sudden action\u2014good when a lion is chasing you but not so great in real life, when it can cause unpleasant physical symptoms like headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, stomach upset, mood disturbances and disruptions in sleep. Over the long term, it can have a serious impact on your health.1 \u00a0Luckily, there are things you can do to help your body cope: exercise, meditation, regular sleep, counseling, workload management\u2014and supplements, one of them being Ashwagandha.\u00a0What is Ashwagandha?\u00a0Ashwagandha, or Withania somnifera, is a root that\u2019s been used in Ayurvedic and indigenous medicine for over 3,000 years to promote physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. It has the ability to function as an adaptogen, a compound known to help the body regulate stress. Think of it as a good friend who can recognize when you\u2019re feeling tense and help you cope.\u00a0How does ashwagandha work?\u00a0When you perceive a threat\u2014whether it\u2019s physical or mental\u2014your body responds by releasing cortisol, the main stress hormone. This increases glucose in the bloodstream, bumping up your energy supplies so you can react quickly to protect yourself. In the short term, this isn&#8217;t a problem, but when you experience stress day after day, this reaction stays turned on, leading to an overproduction of cortisol, which can cause exhaustion and, in the long term, increase health risks.2 Think of this cascading effect like drinking cup after cup of coffee: It keeps you alert for a bit, but eventually you hit a wall and can no longer function properly. The body&#8217;s stress response is similar; you can only do so much before it\u2019s too much to handle!\u00a0Supplementing with Ashwagandha can help your body respond better to stress by prolonging the natural processes that stave off exhaustion\u2014giving you a little more time to resolve the thing that&#8217;s stressing you. Think of it like the nozzle on a kettle that releases steam to prevent it from overboiling. Well, in this instance Ashwagandha helps prevent you from overboiling!\u00a0Choosing your ashwagandha supplement\u00a0Remember: Not all supplements are created equal. If you do choose to go with ashwagandha, look for a brand that offers bioavailable nutrients\u2014meaning they\u2019re ready for your body to use immediately\u2014and FDA-cGMP compliance. This is a certification that means the maker follows best practices at every stage of production.\u00a0Ashwagandha is best taken at night but can actually be taken at any time of day, since it\u2019s not considered a sedative.\u00a0\u00a0About Hayley\u00a0\u00a0Hayley is a Licensed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from Florida State University and a Master of Science in Dietetics from the University of Rhode Island. Hayley is dedicated to empowering individuals to achieve their nutritional goals through evidence-based practices.\u00a0Interested in supplements, but not sure where to start? Reach out to one of our experts, or take our free nutrition assessment, to learn exactly what nutrients would work best for your diet and lifestyle.\u00a0*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.\u00a0\u00a0This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information from this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal, or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this article.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Between your job, your family and your everyday responsibilities, stress is inevitable. Left unchecked, it can make you feel like you\u2019re about to burst into flames. This is because your body responds to stress by going into \u201cflight","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":13205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,8,1230,1825,740,1891,1945,683],"tags":[1372],"class_list":["post-9260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mental-health-2","category-micro-nutrients","category-restore-renew","category-stress-mood","category-stress-support","category-vitamin-101","category-vitamin-101-stress-and-mood","category-womens-health","tag-adaptogens"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9260"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15131,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9260\/revisions\/15131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}