Ask Health: Do Ashwagandha Supplements Work?

One of our editors decided to try ashwagandha powder for 30 days.

Medically reviewed by Suzanne Fisher, RD

• Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb native to India and Southeast Asia. It has been used for centuries as a remedy for stress, anxiety, sleep disorders, and other general health concerns.

• Although preliminary research suggests that ashwagandha may be effective, the existing research is limited.

• I tried taking an ashwagandha powder supplement for 30 days to see if it helped improve my recovery time, sleep, and general mood.

• After taking ashwagandha for 30 days, I didn't have any noticeable results. However, most research says that people may experience results after trying it for at least eight weeks.

Ashwagandha is an herb commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine, a system of medicine based on more than 6,000 years of Indian tradition. The ashwagandha plant is a small shrub with yellow flowers native to India and Southeast Asia. Its botanical name is Withania somnifera, and it’s also known as “Indian ginseng” and “winter cherry.”

Ashwagandha isn't a newfound herb or invention, but its popularity has skyrocketed since adaptogens entered the wellness market. Adaptogens are herbs and plants that are used to help your body "adapt" to stress. They're also used to help support your body's adrenal glands, regulate your hormones, and even increase stamina. Although studies show potential benefits, there isn't enough robust research to say whether ashwagandha actually improves all the conditions it's used for.

While I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a chronically stressed or anxious person, I exercise frequently, which means that my body sees its fair amount of stress. I also struggle pretty consistently with interrupted sleep, meaning that I tend to wake up at least once almost every night, either to use the restroom or just because.

I wanted to see if taking ashwagandha supplements would reduce my workout recovery time and improve my sleep. I set out on a short experiment to take ashwagandha for 30 days and record what I found, if anything.

Potential Benefits of Taking Ashwagandha

There are many purported benefits of taking ashwagandha. The most common and studied benefits include improved sleep, reduced anxiety and stress, and increased energy. Less common benefits include increased testosterone levels, reduced blood sugar, and improved symptoms of arthritis. As for me, here are a few of the potential benefits I was watching out for.

Reducing Stress and Anxiety

Ashwagandha supplements may help reduce stress and anxiety. A small 2019 study of 58 people found that those who took between 250-600 milligrams (mg) of ashwagandha extract for eight weeks had less perceived stress and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Other small studies of people who took ashwagandha for 60 days found that the supplement reduced symptoms of anxiety and stress.

However, a 2021 review of preclinical and clinical studies concluded that there’s not enough evidence to form a consensus on the right dosage and form of ashwagandha for treating stress and anxiety.

Thankfully, I don't run myself ragged from work, but I tend to overextend and overcommit myself socially, and sometimes battle the stress and anxiety that comes with trying to be in too many places at once. You know the signs: the elevated heart rate, racing mind, hurried pace, and sweaty palms.

I was hoping to see if taking ashwagandha helped me stay more calm and at ease while juggling my personal commitments with finesse. To be honest, I didn't see any real difference. I still felt the same racing thoughts and other physiological responses when running around from one commitment to the next.

Related: 10 Simple and Effective Stress Busters You Can Try Today

Improving Sleep Quality

Results from a few clinical trials suggest that taking ashwagandha may help improve sleep. A 2021 review of five studies found that taking an ashwagandha supplement ranging from 250-600 mg per day had a small but significant effect on improving sleep compared to a placebo. These benefits were more prominent when the dose was 600 mg a day, and when the supplement was taken for at least eight weeks.

I've always struggled with waking up in the middle of the night, often multiple times. I think I'm generally a pretty light sleeper, but having interrupted sleep is disruptive to your sleep cycle, potentially causing you to "need" more sleep than the standard eight hours. During sleep, a person progresses through a series of sleep cycles, each made up of distinct sleep stages. If you experience repeated interruptions to your sleep, it can definitely disrupt that process.

I wanted to see if taking ashwagandha helped me feel more tired earlier, and sleep more soundly. Yet again, I didn't notice any significant differences. I still woke up throughout the night as I usually do. That said, I did feel a bit sleepier earlier in the day, and by 9:30-10 p.m. I was already in bed. That said, I took ashwagandha during the winter months, when the days are generally shorter anyway. So, there's a chance my going to be earlier was more the result of the waning daylight and cold weather.

Related: How Much Deep Sleep Do You Need?

Enhancing Athletic Performance

Some research has shown that ashwagandha may play a role in improving athletic performance. A 2020 review found that taking ashwagandha significantly improved the maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max) in healthy adults and athletes, which can contribute to improved aerobic ability.

I exercise at least four times a week and do a combination of strength training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). I hoped taking ashwagandha would improve my performance and recovery time during workouts—more specifically, I wanted to see if it would decrease the amount rest time I need between sets.

When performing strength workouts, I tend to rest between a minute and a half and two minutes. When doing a HIIT workout, I tend to rest for about a minute in between exercise sets. My goal was to get under 90 seconds for strength workouts, and under a minute for HIIT. I never actually felt comfortable achieving this; I definitely still needed my usual time to rest.

My Experience Trying Ashwagandha

To embark on my journey trying ashwagandha for 30 days, I chose the Moon Juice Ashwagandha. It's a full-spectrum root extract powder.

To summarize, my goals were to see if ashwagandha:

• Helped my workout recovery time

• Helped me sleep more uninterruptedly throughout the night

• Generally improved my mood, especially levels of stress throughout the day

For consistency, I decided to take ashwagandha every morning with either my coffee, blended into a smoothie, or blended into oatmeal. Moon Juice's ashwagandha powder is a light brown root powder with a slightly bitter, earthy, molasses-like flavor. Moon Juice says it pairs well with chocolate, coffee, and baked goods, and that I should use between 1/4–1/2 teaspoons (tsp) daily to see benefits. I took 1/4 tsp daily, which is 600 mg.

Adding it to my coffee and oatmeal was my preferred method. It slightly changed the flavor of my coffee and made it a little more bitter, but adding it to oatmeal didn't cause any noticeable differences in flavor. Using a 1/4 tsp of it daily really isn't much, so changes in taste were minimal.

I didn't change my usual life routine, so I exercised about 3-4 times a week and slept about 8-9 hours every night. On any normal day, I go to bed around 11 p.m. (though with the shorter days of winter, I can get in bed at about 10 p.m.), but I tend to wake up at least once throughout the night at around 3 a.m or 4 a.m to use the bathroom. Sometimes I wake up twice! I was curious to see if taking ashwagandha would help me wake up fewer times throughout the night and feel more rested when I woke up.

Results: Did Taking Ashwagandha Improve My Health?

Given that most ashwagandha research studied participants after at least eight weeks, I'm not entirely surprised that I didn't see a significant difference in my sleep, mood, or recovery. Moon Juice itself says that, like any supplement, ashwagandha takes time to regulate the body, and that you can usually expect to see general results "within a few weeks."

I made sure to take ashwagandha mixed in with my coffee every morning, mixed in with oatmeal, or blended into a smoothie with almond milk, bananas, peanut butter, cinnamon, and maca powder.

I still got up to use the restroom about the same as I always have, and I still turned down for bed at around the same time each night. Even though I did go to bed earlier, I mostly chalked it up to it being winter and the days being much shorter.

I didn't see any significant changes in my ability to rest for a shorter amount of time after my workouts or any differences in my mood.

Challenges

Generally speaking, I don't think taking ashwagandha did much for me, after all. That said, this experiment was not without challenges.

For one, it's probably fair to point out that during this time, I didn't experience any real significant amount of stress that would disrupt my usual sleep routine, and I didn't engage in any new forms of exercise that would tax my muscles in a way they usually haven't before. I worked out my usual amount and did exercises I'm familiar with.

Some research has also pointed out that ashwagandha may be most effective when taken consistently for at least eight weeks. I saw no differences when taking this herb for only 30 days. That said, there's not enough evidence to denote whether taking ashwagandha long term over many months is safe. It's best to check with your healthcare provider before adding a new supplement to your diet.

Takeaway

Ashwagandha has been taken for hundreds of years in Ayurverdic medicine to improve symptoms of stress and anxiety, boost cognitive function, improve sleep and athletic performance, and more. I took ashwagandha for 30 days and saw no noticeable results. That said, most studies point out that ashwagandha takes time to regulate the body, and it might be best to try taking it for at least 8 weeks to see results.

Mellanie Perez is a senior editor at Health where she works on the site's health, wellness, and lifestyle content. She hold a Master of Arts in Journalism and has 6 years of experience editing both wellness and clinical content. Since her work primarily focuses on wellness, she wanted to see for herself what all the hype surrounding ashwagandha was about.

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