Ashwagandha
mg/day extract
A standardized extract of Withania somnifera root at a named milligram dose. Trials give the plant on its own, not as a sleep schedule or a mixed adaptogen pack.
Trials use a standardized root extract and usually report the withanolide fraction on the label. Sleep and stress studies dose the extract as its own bottle. Mixes that add piperine or other herbs are a different product.
Also called Withania somnifera, withanolides.
Connected relationships
Randomized trial · Contested
Ashwagandha→Cortisol
Higher Ashwagandha decreases Cortisol.
Choudhary 2017 found that 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice a day for eight weeks lowered morning serum cortisol versus placebo in 52 overweight adults under chronic stress (13.41 versus 15.44 μg per deciliter at week 8, P=0.0132). Cortisol was a secondary endpoint in a weight-and-craving trial.
Randomized trial · Contested
Ashwagandha→Sleep duration and regularity
Higher Ashwagandha increases Sleep duration and regularity.
Deshpande 2021 found that 120 mg a day of a standardized ashwagandha extract for six weeks raised self-reported restorative sleep by 72 percent versus 29 percent on placebo among 150 adults with non-restorative sleep, and actigraphy moved efficiency, total sleep, latency, and wake after sleep onset. Langade 2021 found a similar direction in 80 people, stronger in the insomnia arm.
Randomized trial · Contested
Ashwagandha→Testosterone
Higher Ashwagandha increases Testosterone.
Smith 2023 found that 200 mg of Witholytin ashwagandha root extract twice a day for twelve weeks raised free testosterone and luteinizing hormone versus placebo in the men of a trial of overweight adults aged 40 to 75 (P=0.048 and 0.002). The primary stress score did not beat placebo.
Sources
- D Choudhary et al. (2017). Body Weight Management in Adults Under Chronic Stress Through Treatment With Ashwagandha Root Extract: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
- A Deshpande et al. (2021). A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study to evaluate the effects of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on sleep quality in healthy adults.
- D Langade et al. (2021). 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.
- SJ Smith et al. (2023). Exploring the efficacy and safety of a novel standardized ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract (Witholytin®) in adults experiencing high stress and fatigue in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.