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How Ashwagandha Reduces Cortisol

Ashwagandha is one of the most popular herbal supplements on the market. Clinical trials are continually proving that it can offer a wide range of beneficial effects for your health. Some of its benefits are, admittedly, more popular than others, and one of the most popular of all is its ability to reduce cortisol. This article shows you how Ashwagandha reduces cortisol.

Long said to produce a positive effect in this area, recent research studies have shown very promising results to back up the claims. Most participants in said studies who took an ashwagandha supplement for a predetermined length of time showed notably lower cortisol levels and experienced far less stress.

This article will teach you more about the fascinating relationship between the two. Helping you to learn how Ashwagandha reduces cortisol and why this is important.

Table of Contents

What Is Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb that is extracted from the roots of an evergreen shrub native to Asia. Known as the winter cherry, Withania somnifera, and Indian ginseng, it has long been popular in Ayurvedic medicine and other forms of traditional Asian medicine, as it was believed to offer a large number of beneficial effects for the human body.

Recent clinical trials have confirmed that most of the purported health benefits linked to ashwagandha use are indeed true, making it one of the most widely useful supplements currently on the market.

It can relieve or prevent anxiety, depression, stress, and inflammation, boost testosterone and energy production and levels, brain and heart health and functions, exercise performance, and your mood and sleep latency, cycle and quality, lower blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and help combat diseases, infections, and many other health issues, including arthritis (1).

Check out five surprising benefits of Ashwagandha here

We have even gone over all of these health benefits in not one but two previous articles, so while this article focuses on how ashwagandha reduces cortisol, those who are interested can see exactly how it achieves all of these things here.

While using pure, natural ashwagandha will produce many of these beneficial effects, it can be tough to get hold of, and the quality of different ashwagandha extracts can vary wildly from one to another.

Getting your ashwagandha intake from dedicated supplements is often the best way to go. As you will know exactly what quality of product you are using. That is without even mentioning how much easier and more convenient it is to take in this form.

What Is Cortisol?

Cortisol is a steroid hormone known as the “stress hormone”. It is naturally produced by the adrenal glands of all human beings. It is produced in response to stress, and chronically elevated levels of cortisol can contribute greatly to a variety of different health issues.

These include anxiety, depression, weight gain, inflammation, elevated blood sugar levels, and a poor metabolic rate. A reduction of certain mental functions, such as memory and your ability to learn, is also common (2).

How Ashwagandha Reduces Cortisol

Regulates The HPA Axis

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is what controls the human body’s stress response, which includes the production of cortisol. Ashwagandha has been shown to help balance and regulate the HPA axis, which in turn can help you to maintain normal cortisol levels.

By balancing this system, ashwagandha can help reduce the overproduction of cortisol, particularly during times of stress, preventing your levels from ever getting too high (3).

Reduces Stress & Anxiety

One of the benefits that ashwagandha is best known for is the calming properties that it possesses. These help to reduce anxiety and stress levels. Studies show that it can significantly lower the symptoms of stress by modulating neurotransmitter activity, particularly when it comes to serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

Add in the fact that it also supports the nervous system. This indirectly affects cortisol production. The stress relieving properties of ashwagandha are fantastic for the regulation of a person’s cortisol levels (4).

Boasts Antioxidant Properties

Ashwagandha contains several compounds, such as withanolides, which are well-known to possess potent antioxidant effects. These compounds offer many beneficial effects. Including helping to reduce oxidative stress in the body, as well as the pain and inflammation that it can cause. All of which are often linked to an increase in a person’s cortisol levels.

By reducing oxidative stress, as well as any pain linked to it, ashwagandha can help keep your cortisol levels from increasing when issues arise with other parts of your body (5).

Produces An Adaptogenic Effect

As we mentioned at the top of this article, ashwagandha is an adaptogen. This means it helps the human body adapt to stress and restore its internal balance. Which prevents the prolonged increase in cortisol production that is associated with chronic stress.

This adaptogenic property allows the body to respond far more effectively to stress and return to homeostasis faster. Ensuring that any spikes in your cortisol levels are kept to a minimum (6).

Helps You Sleep

Perhaps the most famous and popular benefit of ashwagandha is its ability to help people sleep better. It is so prominent in this area that we even wrote an entire article dedicated to the topic. Sleep relates to your cortisol levels as poor sleep quality and duration can greatly increase stress, while high stress levels can make falling asleep extremely hard, leading to a vicious cycle of stress and fatigue.

Ashwagandha supplementation can, therefore, help to regulate cortisol levels by helping people rest better. This will improve their mood and make them feel more rejuvenated, all of which are crucial to help keep stress to a minimum (7).

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