As someone who's been plagued by incessant mental chatter and gnawing anxiety for most of my adult life, I was skeptical when ashwagandha made its way into the mainstream. Over the years, I've been a willing guinea pig for everything from breathwork to week-long silence retreats, and the results have been… mixed.
I've brought into almost every passing fad in the quest for a calmer state of mind. So when everyone suddenly started talking about the benefits of adaptogens like ashwagandha, I was ready for them to just be a passing trend with little to no impact on my life. But – spoiler alert – I gave it a go anyway. Here's how it went.
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What is ashwagandha?
Adaptogens have been used for centuries in traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine – what makes them so unique is their widely-believed ability to help the body "adapt" to various forms of stress; whether physical, emotional, or environmental.
Ashwagandha supplements are one of the most well-known, heralded by the wellness elite for its believed ability to gently nudge the body towards a state of balance, enhancing its resilience against the punishing pace of modern life (I say as I rotate between my phone, laptop, iPad and coffee).
What are the effects of taking ashwagandha?
The first few weeks were subtle. I diligently swallowed a capsule each morning with my lukewarm coffee (I'm a toddler mum), hopeful that I might be doused in a sense of calm instantaneously. I wasn't.
Instead, the change was a gradual softening; a growing sense that my shoulders had dropped a bit and my tongue wasn’t glued so tightly to the roof of my mouth. I started to notice that the mental buzzing I was used to experiencing – the cacophony of replaying conversation from the day while catastrophising about the next, running through to-do lists, the sense of tension – began to ease.
The shift was so nuanced that it took me a few weeks to notice it, until one evening – after a particularly stressful day involving a blocked drain, a delayed Northern Line and a meltdown from my daughter about the lack of rubber ducks in her bath – I found myself sitting on the sofa, drinking a cup of mint tea (Pukka Three Mint, in case you're wondering) and staring at the wall.
Normally, I would've been frantically switching between doomscrolling, sending voice notes that never reached their conclusion and reading back through emails from the day. So, just being – and allowing the dust of the day to settle – was a pretty big deal. Soon, I swapped out ‘staring at a wall’ for reading on the sofa, something my loud mind hadn't allowed me to do in years.
My digestion has never been better.
Beyond the mental quietening, I also started to notice that my shoulders, which I’d carried around my neck as though they were a collar, began to relax. That physical tension that I’d almost accepted as normal started to dissipate. I realised that I wasn’t clenching my jaw or holding my breath every other minute. There was a newfound ease in my movements; a feeling of my muscles being less tightly-wound. It was as if ashwagandha was gently coaxing my body out of a perpetual state of fight-or-flight.
It’s important to note here that ashwagandha isn’t a magic eraser for stress. Life still happens. Deadlines still loom. Annoying emails still land in my inbox. But what has changed is my capacity to meet these challenges without feeling completely derailed. I’m more able to weather the storms without being permanently flooded.
Ashwagandha benefits
Curious to know whether my own experience was synonymous with the science, I spoke to Clarissa Lenherr, a Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and a certified member of The British Association of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine.
"The primary benefit of ashwagandha is its potential to support the body’s stress response," she explains. "Research suggests it may help improve resilience to stress and enhance quality of life. For example, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adults found that high-concentration, full-spectrum ashwagandha root extract significantly improved stress resistance and wellbeing. Ashwagandha may also support better sleep. Although research is still limited, some small studies have found it could be helpful for people experiencing insomnia.”
She adds: “From my clinical experience, I’ve found that ashwagandha can be genuinely helpful for some people, particularly when it comes to managing stress. Many of my clients who struggle with chronic stress or feel wired but tired find they feel calmer after consistently using a high-quality ashwagandha supplement.
“However, it’s not a magic bullet and results can vary. It should be used as part of a broader approach that includes good nutrition, movement, sleep hygiene practices and stress management techniques.”
If you do want to try it for yourself, you can buy ashwagandha in capsule, tablet or powder form, Clarissa recommends starting with a lower dose and gradually increasing if needed. “Always follow the instructions on the supplement label or your healthcare provider’s advice,” she advises. “Some people prefer to take it in the evening to support relaxation and sleep, while others take it in the morning for general stress support.”
Are there any ashwagandha side effects?
She also notes that some people may experience upset or drowsiness if taken in large doses. “Ashwagandha may also interact with certain medications, including sedatives, medications for high blood pressure, thyroid hormones, and immunosuppressants,” she says, so check in with your doctor before taking it in any form.
For me though, as someone who spent years searching for that elusive sense of calm, often chasing fleeting trends and quick fixes, ashwagandha has offered a more grounded and sustainable sense of calm. It’s not about being perpetually Zen, but a gentle reminder that sometimes, the most profound shifts happen not with a bang, but with a quiet, consistent whisper of support.
Has ashwagandha helped me achieve inner peace? No. But – and it’s a big but – it has helped me achieve more moments of peace throughout the day, and that is no small feat.
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