If you're struggling with restless nights or waking up feeling tired, you may be looking for a natural solution to improve your sleep.
Ashwagandha, a powerful adaptogen, is well-known for reducing stress, but it also offers significant benefits for sleep.
But can ashwagandha help you get the restful sleep you need, especially when combined with sleep medications? Is it safe to take?
This article explores how Ashwagandha can support better sleep, why it works, and how to incorporate it into your nightly routine for deeper, more restorative rest.
How Ashwagandha Helps with Sleep
Ashwagandha works by calming the body's stress response, often a significant cause of poor sleep. Thus, it suggests that ashwagandha may help improve this issue.
Elevated stress levels, whether psychological or physical, trigger the release of the hormone cortisol, which keeps you awake and can make it difficult to get asleep or stay asleep .
Here's how Ashwagandha can improve your sleep quality:
Reduces Cortisol Levels
Cortisol is known as the "stress hormone" and is often elevated in individuals who experience chronic stress or anxiety.
Elevated cortisol levels make it harder for your body to wind down at the end of the day, leading to sleepless nights, but studies have found that taking ashwagandha can help (1).
Ashwagandha helps lower cortisol, promotes relaxation, and prepares your body for rest.
Studies have proven that Ashwagandha lowers cortisol levels by as much as 3%, which may help reduce stress levels. The use of ashwagandha has been shown to affect sleep positively. 0%, which can help establish the peaceful atmosphere necessary for improved sleep.
It calms the nervous system, which may help enhance total sleep time.
In addition to lowering cortisol, Ashwagandha also has a calming effect on the nervous system.
It works by balancing the body's stress response and reducing overstimulation, which may help improve sleep efficiency and make it easier to mentally and physically relax before bed.
Ashwagandha helps prevent "racing thoughts" and tension, which can keep you awake at night by calming the nervous system.
Improves Sleep Quality
Apart from facilitating sleep, ashwagandha may enhance the general quality of your sleep.
This means you're more likely to experience deeper, restorative sleep cycles that refresh you in the morning.
Ashwagandha helps calm the body and reduce stress, enabling deeper sleep stages that are essential for physical and mental healing (2).
Who Can Benefit from Ashwagandha for Sleep?
Ashwagandha can help many people who experience sleep issues, including those who wake after sleep onset.
People with Stress-Related Sleep Issues: If tension or anxiety keeps you awake at night, ashwagandha's calming qualities can help you unwind and sleep more quickly.
People with Irregular Sleep Schedules: Whether you're a shift worker or simply dealing with an inconsistent sleep routine, Ashwagandha can help balance your body's stress response and improve your ability to rest.
Those Struggling with Sleep disorders may find the effects of ashwagandha root extract beneficial. While not a replacement for medical treatment, Ashwagandha may offer relief for those with mild sleep disorders, helping promote an improvement in sleep quality and more regular and restorative sleep patterns.
How to Use Ashwagandha for Sleep
Incorporating the ashwagandha extract into your nightly routine is critical for the best results. Here's how to use it effectively for better sleep:
Take It in the Evening: Take it 30-60 minutes before bed to maximize Ashwagandha's calming effects and promote sleep.
This allows enough time for the dose of ashwagandha to work into your system and promote relaxation.
Be Consistent: Ashwagandha is safe to take when taken consistently.
Make it a part of your nightly wind-down routine to enjoy its full sleep-enhancing benefits (3).
Pair it with other relaxing activities to enhance the sleep benefits of ashwagandha extract from Withania somnifera. Combine Ashwagandha with calming bedtime rituals, such as meditation, reading, or gentle stretching, for even better results.
Can Ashwagandha Replace Sleep Aids?
While Ashwagandha is an excellent natural option for improving sleep, it's not a direct replacement for prescription sleep aids.
However, it can be an excellent supplement for those looking for a natural, non-habit-forming way to improve their sleep quality with ashwagandha extract reported (4).
Unlike sleep aids that can leave you groggy the next day, Ashwagandha promotes restful sleep without side effects, making it a healthier long-term solution for many people. It also supports an improvement in sleep quality (5).
Final Thoughts
If you're looking for a natural way to improve your sleep quality, Ashwagandha supplements could be the answer.
This powerful adaptogen helps create the ideal conditions for restful, deep sleep by reducing stress, calming the nervous system, and promoting relaxation. Studies have found that ashwagandha is effective.
Ready to sleep better with the help of ashwagandha supplements that promote sleep and may help reduce anxiety?
Try incorporating Daily Nutra's Ashwagandha Gummies into your nightly routine and start naturally enjoying more restful, restorative sleep.
FAQs
How does Ashwagandha improve sleep quality?
Ashwagandha reduces cortisol and calms the nervous system, promoting deeper sleep.
How much Ashwagandha should I take for sleep to help you sleep better?
A daily dose of 250-600 mg of ashwagandha for 8 weeks may improve sleep quality.
Can Ashwagandha help with insomnia?
Yes, it helps reduce stress and promotes relaxation, easing insomnia symptoms.
Are there any side effects of taking Ashwagandha for sleep?
Mild side effects include stomach upset and drowsiness; avoid during pregnancy when considering treatment with ashwagandha.
Can Ashwagandha replace sleep aids?
It’s a natural supplement that may enhance sleep without replacing prescription aids.
Related Studies:
- Title: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Investigation of Ashwagandha's Impact on Stress and Anxiety Symptoms and Their Association with Sleep.
This study by The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry demonstrated that Ashwagandha root extract significantly reduced cortisol levels and stress in adults, suggesting its efficacy as an adaptogen for managing stress-related disorders.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3573577/ - This article discusses the safety of ashwagandha root extract.
- Title: Effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Extract on Sleep
A systematic review and meta-analysis by PLOS ONE found that Ashwagandha extract significantly improved sleep quality and reduced sleep onset latency in adults, particularly those diagnosed with insomnia.
Link: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0257843
- The safety of ashwagandha root extract has been widely discussed, as have its benefits for sleep. The title is Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Root Extract in Reducing Stress and Anxiety, highlighting the safety of Ashwagandha root extract.
This randomized controlled trial by the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine indicated that Ashwagandha root extract effectively reduced anxiety and stress levels, calming the nervous system.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6827862/
- Title: Clinical evaluation of the pharmacological impact of ashwagandha root extract on sleep in healthy volunteers and insomnia patients: A double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study
The study by the Journal of Ethnopharmacology confirmed that Ashwagandha root extract significantly improved sleep quality and reduced insomnia symptoms in participants, highlighting its potential as a natural treatment for sleep disorders.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874120331585 - This study explores the effects of ashwagandha root extract on sleep quality.
- Title: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Effects of Ashwagandha on Sleep Quality in Healthy Adults
According to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, taking 600 mg of ashwagandha extract every day for eight weeks greatly enhanced sleep parameters, indicating that this dosage is ideal for improving sleep quality.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3573577/
