Name/Brand
Ashwagandha from Absorb Health
Dosage(s)
300 mg – 2,000 mg daily
Ashwagandha plant.
Length Of Use
On and off for several years
Positives
- Improved mood
- Reduced anxiety
- Increased sense of well-being
- Better sleep (at times)
- Improved immune function
Negatives
- Takes days/weeks to really start working
- Sleep difficulties (at times)
Ashwagandha Review
Ashwagandha is something that I've used off and on for the past five years. I only take it for three or four months at a time, then give myself several months before taking it again. It's one of my favorite supplements to use for anxiety, stress, and mood. That's why I've decided to write this ashwagandha review.
When I'm going through a period of heightened stress, ashwagandha is my go-to supplement to help me cope with the added strain on my body and brain. Sometimes my anxiety gets to be a bit unmanageable and ashwagandha, within a week or two, helps me feel much calmer.
The effects are subtle but noticeable. Unfortunately, they usually take a few days to appear and at least a week to reach their peak. This is faster than most antidepressants but not as fast as many anti-anxiety medications.
One of the things that keep me coming back to ashwagandha, besides its effectiveness, is its safety profile. Unlike prescription anti-anxiety drugs, you can't get addicted to ashwagandha. And, unlike most antidepressants, ashwagandha doesn't cause a variety of side effects that are just as bad, if not worse, than the depression itself.
I really haven't experienced many side effects from taking ashwagandha. The only problem I've had with it is trouble sleeping. But, I've had insomnia issues on and off all my life, so I'm not sure if it's the ashwagandha or just my normal sleep problems.
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The sleep problems only arise after I've been taking ashwagandha for at least a month and only at higher dosages. When I say “higher dosages,” I mean higher for me. The highest dosage I've used is 2,000mg (2g) a day. Some people take much more than that, but I feel like that dosage improves my mood and anxiety sufficiently enough. There's no need for me to go any higher.
Every time I take ashwagandha, for the first few weeks, my sleep actually improves. I fall asleep a little faster and feel much more rested when I wake up and throughout the day. It's only when I get up to around 2g that the sleep disturbances start to arise. They're usually not too bad, though. Sometimes, I'll wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back asleep. But, like I said, it could just be about of the normal insomnia I've always dealt with.
Whenever I decide to go back on it, I start somewhere between 300mg and 500mg, depending on which brand I'm using. I'll take it in one dose, usually in the morning. After a few days, I'll double the dosage, taking half in the morning and half at night. I continue to titrate the dosage up until I get to around 2g. Then, I stay at that dosage until I decide to come off. I usually just stop taking it. I've never experienced any kind of withdrawal or anything so I see no need to titrate down before stopping.
I can't remember why I started dosing like this, but I'm sure I had a good reason to. Since this dosing strategy still works well for me, I see no reason to change it. Everyone's different, though. I know someone who takes 300mg twice a day and gets all the benefits that I need 2g to notice. Someone that I used to know used to take a lot more than me. I can't remember if it was 6g a day or 8g – I just remember it being several times what I was taking.
The effects I get from ashwagandha have been pretty consistent each time I've taken it. After a few days, I notice a slight reduction in anxiety. This is the main reason why I use it. Sometimes my anxiety gets pretty bad and I don't like to take prescription meds. There are other supplements – some of which are nootropics – that I also use, but ashwagandha is one of my favorites.
After a few weeks, the anti-anxiety effects become more pronounced. I also start to notice a slight improvement in mood. Nothing crazy, but I just feel a little better all around. The world seems a little less harsh, people seem a little friendlier, and life seems to move along a little smoother.
Another benefit that I've noticed from ashwagandha is that it seems to help my immune system. I was reluctant to try ashwagandha at first because I have an autoimmune disease. I was diagnosed as a child and have had occasional flare-ups ever since.
Since ashwagandha is known to affect the immune system, I was warned by my doctor that it could make my autoimmune disease worse. He told me not to take it. I saw this warning around the web, too. But, after doing a ton of research, I decided that the risk was minimal. I couldn't find any credible sources that actually proved ashwagandha would make my autoimmune disease (or any of them, for that matter) worse. In fact, I found tons of anecdotal reports of it improving a number of different autoimmune conditions.
So, after doing my due diligence, I decided to try it. The first time I took ashwagandha, I only took it for a month and never went above 1g. It improved my mood and anxiety slightly, but it also reduced the severity of some lingering autoimmune symptoms I had at the time.
The next time I took it, I went up to 2g and experienced a much more noticeable improvement in mood and reduction in anxiety. I think I took the ashwagandha for three or four months before coming off it for a while. It was during the winter months and I usually get sick a lot during that time of year. I remember being amazed that I didn't get sick at all that winter. Ashwagandha didn't make my immune system worse like my doctor warned: It made it much, much better.
This has been my experience every time I've taken ashwagandha over the past few years. I feel better, am less stressed, worry less, and just feel healthier. I've considered staying on ashwagandha year round but don't think it's necessary. It does what I want it to do when I want it to do it and that's good enough for me right now.
I've been taking ashwagandha on and off for around five years now. I usually take it for three or four months in the winter. That's when my anxiety is usually its highest, my mood and autoimmune disease at their worst, and when I most often get sick.
The last couple times I've used ashwagandha, I've gotten it from Absorb Health. They have good products and reasonable prices, and I regularly order other supplements from them. I've also used and would recommend Nootropic City's ashwagandha root, Gaia Herbs' ashwagandha root, and Planetary Herbals' full spectrum ashwagandha. I think I've also tried a couple others but can't remember right now.
I read a few other ashwagandha reviews before writing this one and it looks like my experiences have been somewhere in the middle of everyone else's. Some ashwagandha reviews list a variety of benefits that I've never experienced. Perhaps they only happen at higher dosages. Other ashwagandha reviews say that it does nothing at all. I guess the only way to know what it'll do for you is to try it yourself.
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