Ashwagandha is a Key Adaptogen for Stress Resilience

Little bit stressy, little bit depressy. We’re all so stressed 80-150% of the time that it’s literally just memes now. Just in the last couple decades, we saw an exponential increase in anti-stress prescriptions, mood boosters, wellness drink powders, and other treatments meant to help us deal better with the daily grind. But many of these things don’t come without their costs, and the benefits sometimes don’t outweigh the risks.

Today, we’re on a new front of stress-fighting methods, often referred to as nutraceuticals. Lion’s mane supplements, magnesium mocktails, and cannabis candies have started to change how we think about managing stress with substances. Some healthier alternatives include adaptogens – bioactive plants thought to help the body adapt to stress physically and mentally. One such adaptogen with stress-busting potential is ashwagandha.

We love a good ashwagandha moment – is there anything this famous adaptogen can’t do? Touted as useful for everything from vitality and strength to low libido and fertility, can this powerhouse plant promote better stress resilience? Maybe help us stop overthinking and relax for once?

It sure seems that way!

Ashwagandha as an Adaptogen: Past & Present

This little shrub has played a part in medicine for at least 6000 years. In Indian Ayurveda, it’s so integral to medicine it serves as its own Rasayana. First recorded in Ancient Sumer, ashwagandha is found in ancient pharmacopoeias across the Old World, including Ancient Greece and the Middle East. In historic contexts, ashwagandha was used for stress, strength, respiratory illnesses, sexual performance, rheumatism, and more.

Modern day, ashwagandha is used all over the world for a host of different ailments. In Somalia, children are given ashwagandha tonics for nightmares. In India, it’s used for skin and joint conditions. In South Africa, it’s used in mainstream clinics for fertility. And in the US, wellness companies use ashwagandha in their energy drink blends to boost performance, focus, mood, immunity, and more.

For a look at everything ashwagandha, read: Understanding Ashwagandha: From Ancient Ayurvedic Medicine to Modern Health & Wellness

And for on overview of the latest on ashwagandha’s functionality, check out: Does Science Support Ashwagandha as the MVP of Adaptogens? (Spoiler Alert: Yup.)

The Catastrophes of Chronic Stress

We’re so stressed that scientists have literally changed the concept of what a human stress response entails. Why? Because where our biological responses to stress used to be beneficial – obviously – the HPA axis took a while for evolution to build… can’t have been for nothing.

The issue is, the HPA should only be flooding the body with cortisol in times of actual high stress, life-threatening stuff. But now they’re often more harm now than good. Most of us are chronically in a low to moderate state of stress on a biological level, and our systems simply aren’t set up for that.

Science is more than sure that this is hurting our health. Chronic stress is linked to countless health problems, including:

Weakened immune system
Increased risk of heart problems
Neuronal death in brain structures associated with critical thinking and emotional regulation
Synaptic impairment (read: literal brain damage)
Digestive problems, including stomach ulcers
Chronic fatigue
Chronic low mood

For more scary stress stuff, read: Understanding the Dangers & Mechanisms of Chronic Stress

And for how stress affects fitness: How Chronic High Stress is Messing with Your Fitness Goals

Evidence Ashwagandha Supports Stress Resilience

So, is there a natural way to calm down? And is it something that actually helps – not just makes us tired and foggy? It turns out, ashwagandha’s potential as a way to promote better stress resilience isn’t just backed by several millennia of traditional medicine – it’s also indicated by modern medical research.

Recent highlights in research on ashwagandha’s potential to reduce the effects of stress include:

A 2021 reviewof the human trials on ashwagandha found that within the current body of research, “the strongest evidence for therapeutic efficacy of ashwagandha is the alleviation of stress”.
A 2022 studyon adult cognition and mood looked at two different doses of ashwagandha over 30 days of supplementation. Both ashwagandha groups reported decreased self-perceived stress and also had lower levels of stress hormone in their system than the control group.
A 2023 studylooked at ashwagandha’s biological role in stress over 60 days of supplementation. After 60 days, the ashwagandha group showed lower morning levels of stress hormone coupled with increases in a neurochemical associated with feeling happy and calm.
A 2021 studyon agitation used 60 days of high-concentration ashwagandha as an intervention for stress. At the end of the 60 day, participants had a significant reduction in all stress-assessment scales, relative to placebo. They also had lower levels of pro-stress chemicals in their system, relative to placebo. In addition, despite the high concentration, any adverse effects were mild and equal to the placebo group, and no serious reactions were reported.

Other Stress-Busting Indications for Ashwagandha

But your body isn’t just a series of separate systems and processes – everything is interlinked, interactive, intertwined. So just as an adaptogen might directly support stress resilience, it might also indirectly promote a better stress response by supporting processes directly in its orbit.

Ashwagandha looks like the real, whole deal on this front, too:

Natural Energy Boost

Stress makes you feel fatigued – like you’re dragging your own dead body through the day. A 2015 study observed a marked increase, relative to placebo, in VO2 max and self-perceived energy and quality of life with 12 weeks of ashwagandha energy supplements.

Zoned-In Focus

When you’re stressed out and tired, it’s hard to concentrate, problem solve, remember things, and make critical decisions. A 2021 study saw daily ashwagandha intake significantly boost scores on recall memory – both increased capacity and reduced errors.

Mood Support

Stress takes a toll on your mood – even the nicest person asks themselves an AITA or two when they’re stressed and snappy. Another 2021 study observed a significant improvement in scores on a happiness scale used in psychiatric settings in the ashwagandha group, where the placebo group’s scores decreased.

Bolstered Immunity

Chronic stress is known to make people more susceptible to illness, easier to injure, and more difficult to recover. Yet another 2021 study looked at ashwagandha’s effects on several biomarkers for immune function after 30, 60 and 90 days. They saw, relative to placebo, a significant increase in over a dozen types of immunocompetent cells and their progenitors, an effect that increased over time.

Gut Health

Stress is directly linked to a host of digestive issues – remember the last time you were dreading something so hard you got nauseous? That’s real. A 2023 study on an ashwagandha-okra supplement resulted in improvements in bowel clearance and gastrointestinal function.

Rest & Recovery

A common complaint of chronic stress is poor sleep. Which just makes literally everything worse. A systematic review from 2022 found that the literature includes numerous studies where ashwagandha supplements:

Significantly reduced the time it takes to fall asleep within 10 weeks of use
A significant improvement in sleep efficiency within 10 weeks of use
Improvements in sleep quality, duration
Improvements in morning mood

MTE: A Caffeine-Free Energy Supplement for Stress Support

It’s not exactly easy to have ashwagandha on hand all the time – you’re not going to find it in most stores. And then there’s the how-do-you-prepare-it part; it’s high-key disgusting raw – way better integrated into a blend of synergistic functional ingredients.

So why not find something simple to add to your day that features ashwagandha, other key adaptogens, nootropics, and superfoods? Nutraceuticals offer a way to grab lots of hard-to-get, important compounds all in a caffeine-free wellness drink powder like MTE.

MTE’s healthy alternative to downers and sketchy chemicals can support stress resilience, mood, sleep, and immunity. All these things work together to promote your body’s ability to fight environmental and oxidative stress, helping you resist its negative effects from the inside out.

One of the key players in that whole-body health support is ashwagandha, but we’ve stacked this natural stress-relief drink with 9 other highly bioactive compounds as well. Check out Our Ingredients for the secret to the synergy of this transformative formula.

When we’re stressed, we don’t have the energy to live our best life and be our best self. But there’s more to life than exhaustion and coffee. MTE is a new kind of energy – jitter-free, stress-free, and without the crash. If you’re ready to approach your battle with chronic stress from a new, holistic perspective, this is your new go-to daily feel-good drink.

Questions About the Topic

The how of it all is complicated, but it’s also simple. Caffeine excites the nervous system; MTE does not. Caffeine promotes energy production by jamming I’M TIRED signals while pushing LET’S EFFING GO signals. It does this by hijacking the body’s natural stress response processes to keep it in a heightened state of alertness that lasts for 4-6 hours.

When the caffeine’s gone, those mood-boosting, energy-promoting, zoned-in benefits are gone all at once, and all those fatigue signals come flooding in. This is the caffeine crash, and what defines the caffeine hamster wheel.

MTE is way different. We use nootropics and adaptogens to tap into your body’s natural energy reserves. Adaptogens promote stress resilience, while nootropics promote energy, mood, and focus. They work synergistically to:

Free up energy by fighting the effects of stress.
Boost focus by promoting the production of neurochemicals associated with calm clarity.
Gently modulate I’M TIRED and LET’S GO chemicals to provide smooth, sustained energy that doesn’t come with stress, jitters, or over-excitation.
Support balanced activity of neurotransmitters and hormones controlling mood, memory, learning, motivation, and attention.

The result? Feel-good energy that doesn’t rely on making your mind and body panic for no reason. This energy is a result of optimizing your body’s natural processes instead of violently interrupting them.

No, and that’s one of the best things about it. In studies, paraxanthine has outpaced caffeine in energy, focus, reaction time, learning, recall and memory without the typical stimulant side effects. No heart palpitations, blood sugar or blood pressure spikes, stress, or disrupted sleep later. It sounds too good to be true but the science is behind it.

The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis – say that five times fast – is the brain’s control system for the body’s stress response; it controls the fight-flight-freeze response you feel in emergencies and also the knot in the pit of your stomach you feel before a big presentation.

Learn more: Understanding the HPA Axis & Its Role in How You Feel

Frequently Asked Questions

MTE combines support for energy, focus, mood, stress response, gut health, and overall recovery into a single daily blend to help your body better manage inflammation, immune challenges, and everyday wear and tear. Rather than borrowing from tomorrow, MTE’s proprietary blend of nootropics, adaptogens, and superfoods nourish your body’s systems naturally so you can feel good consistently. No crash. No jitters. No impact on sleep.

Most people describe MTE as calm, clear, and steady; focused without being wired; energized without the edge. Some feel a difference from their first serving. Adaptogens and nootropics work best over time, so the deeper shift in mood, stress resilience, and sleep tends to build over about 30 days.

Most drinks provide a burst of focus and energy, but disrupt your calm and sleep in return. MTE doesn't work that way. Instead of triggering a stress response, it supports your nervous system. Adaptogens build stress resilience, nootropics support focus and mood, and together, they tap into your body's natural energy reserves. No payback later.

MTE is made of 10 carefully-selected nootropics, adaptogens, and superfoods: paraxanthine, L-theanine, saffron, GABA, ashwagandha, eleuthero, maca, spirulina, amaranth, and chicory root. No caffeine, no added sugar, and no artificial anything.

If caffeine makes you jittery, anxious, or wrecks your sleep, MTE was made for you. It's also a good fit if you're looking for something that supports energy, mood, focus, and sleep without the usual tradeoffs. Many people add it to their morning ritual. Others use it as an afternoon coffee replacement, or just as a way to feel like themselves again. MTE is vegan, gluten-free, keto-friendly, and free of common allergens.