Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an ayurvedic herb that is considered a potent adaptogen and anti-stress. A number of studies have shown its effect on physical endurance and performance. A systematic review (study analyzing multiple published studies to better understand the underlying phenomenon), analyzing 12 studies performed in different labs found that Ashwagandha supplementation improved the physical performance in healthy men and women (Bonilla et al., 2021) providing clear evidence of Ashwagandha health benefits.
Recently, a couple of clinical studies from the University of Colorado examined the effect of Ashwagandha supplementation on stress, anxiety, and sleep in college students (Baker et al.; O'Connor et al., 2022). College students were given 700 mg of Ashwagandha root powder every day for 30 days. Ashwagandha supplementation reduced stress levels and improved sustained energy, mental clarity, and sleep quality. All these traits are closely interrelated and a beneficial (or adverse) impact on one can affect the other trait. For example, high-stress levels are known to affect sleep quality and alertness, mental clarity, etc. On the other hand, poor sleep increases stress and affects mental clarity and alertness. These studies suggest that Ashwagandha is beneficial in reducing stress and improving sleep quality as well as improving general well-being. Interestingly, these studies also reported that Ashwagandha supplementation improved satiety, which may also be linked to the improved sleep quality. Ashwagandha is also know improve glycemic control (Nayak et al., 2015) which could is related to satiety. Together these studies indicate a role of Ashwagandha supplementation in regulating food cravings which may be beneficial for obesity. Another systematic review published recently (Akhgarjand et al.), further provides evidence of the beneficial effects of Ashwagandha on anxiety, stress, and sleep.
Ashwagandha supplementation does appear to demonstrate pleiotrotic effects on health, a common property demonstrated by many herbal supplements. One reason for this multiple health benefits of herbal supplements is presence of numerous health beneficial compounds or phytochemicals. These phytochemicals have different cellular targets leading varied effects. Additionally, in certain cases, a single phytochemical can bind to multiple cellular targets in human body and demonstrate multiple health benefits. Over 100 bioactive compounds or phytochemicals have been reported from Ashwagandha. Withanolides are the most studied bioactive compounds and shown to contribute to many of the health benefits. Overall, the two recent publications discussed above indicate that Ashwagandha may help improve sleep quality, reduce stress and anxiety.
References
Akhgarjand, C., Asoudeh, F., Bagheri, A., Kalantar, Z., Vahabi, Z., Shab-bidar, S., Rezvani, H., and Djafarian, K. Does Ashwagandha supplementation have a beneficial effect on the management of anxiety and stress? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Phytotherapy Research 1-10 https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.7598.
Baker, C., Kirby, J. B., O'Connor, J., Lindsay, K. G., Hutchins, A., and Harris, M. The Perceived Impact of Ashwagandha on Stress, Sleep Quality, Energy, and Mental Clarity for College Students: Qualitative Analysis of a Double-Blind Randomized Control Trial. Journal of Medicinal Food In Press https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2022.0042.
Bonilla, D. A., Moreno, Y., Gho, C., Petro, J. L., Odriozola-Martínez, A., and Kreider, R. B. (2021). Effects of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) on Physical Performance: Systematic Review and Bayesian Meta-Analysis. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology 6, 20.
Nayak, S., Nayak, S., Panda, B. K., and Das, S. (2015). A Clinical Study on management of stress in type-2 diabetes mellitus (Madhumeha) with ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera). Ayushdhara 2, 413-417.
O'Connor, J., Lindsay, K., Baker, C., Kirby, J., Hutchins, A., and Harris, M. (2022). The Impact of Ashwagandha on Stress, Sleep Quality, and Food Cravings in College Students: Quantitative Analysis of a Double-Blind Randomized Control Trial. Journal of Medicinal Food In Press https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2022.0040.