Ashwagandha against insomnia

Sleep Disorders Are Widespread
Sleep is essential for good health, yet more than 30% of adults report sleeping less than the recommended seven hours per night.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 36% of adults in the U.S. use some type of alternative medicine to support or treat various ailments, including sleep disorders. One natural remedy for treating sleep problems is ashwagandha, a plant that is said to have sleep-inducing properties.

What is Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha, also known as Indian ginseng and winter cherry, is an herbal medicine commonly used in traditional Ayurvedic health practices. It is derived from a small evergreen shrub called Withania somnifera, which is native to India and Southeast Asia. Ashwagandha is used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine to treat a variety of conditions.

Benefits of Ashwagndha
Ashwagandha is considered an adaptogen. An adaptogen is an alternative medical term for biologically active plant compounds that are thought to help the body adapt to increased physical and emotional stressful situations Numerous studies suggest that ashwagandha may be effective in combating stress.

Es wird behauptet, dass Ashwagandha auch die Funktion des endokrinen Systems, des Nervensystems und des Herz-Lungen-Systems verbessert. Es soll entzündungshemmende und antioxidative Eigenschaften haben und bei der Behandlung von Angstzuständen, kognitiven Störungen und Diabetes wirksam sein. 

Ashwagandha as a Sleep Aid
Preliminary research has found that ashwagandha can help people fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and experience better sleep quality. After taking ashwagandha for six weeks, participants in an actigraphy-based study described their sleep as 72% better on average.

Several compounds may be responsible for the sleep-promoting effect of ashwagandha. Researchers suggest that triethylene glycol, naturally present in the plant, may promote sleepiness. Other researchers suggest that ashwagandha acts on GABA receptors, which play a key role in the sleep-wake cycle. There are likely other undiscovered compounds that contribute to the apparent therapeutic effects of ashwagandha.

The main active ingredients of ashwagandha are withanolides, which are believed to have a number of benefits, including the ability to relieve stress. Stress is associated with poorer sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness. If taking ashwagandha before bed helps you relax, it could be another way to improve sleep.

How to use ashwagandha for sleep
The higher the amount of withanolides (plant messengers) in ashwagandha, the better. Whether a capsule consists of 200mg or 500mg of Ashwagandha is meaningless. The decisive factor is the withanolide content, which should in any case be higher than 20%. Most products available on the market have just 3%. The effect is therefore hardly noticeable, if at all. 

Ideally, Ashwagandha should be taken 30 minutes or immediately before bedtime. The effect of high-dose Ashwagandha is immediate and you feel a pleasant drowsiness almost immediately. 

You can also take Ashwagandha in the morning after getting up. The effect is then noticeable in the form of a pleasant serenity. Nevertheless, one is focused and ready for the demanding everyday life.