The secret to living a life that’s happy and stress-free lies in these nine herbs! Keep reading to find out more.
Enjoy a Stress-Free Life with These Herbs
1. Ashwagandha
If you’re looking for a way to make life more stress-free, you can begin with Ashwagandha. This is one of the most powerful herbs in India and is highly revered in Ayurvedic medicine.
In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, more than 60 people with chronic stress participated. Some of them received a full-spectrum Ashwagandha capsule twice a day for 60 days.
The results then suggested those who took the drug experienced a significant reduction in levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. They also developed higher resistance to stress while the herb didn’t produce any serious side effect.
2. Valerian Root
Usually, stress, lack of sleep, and anxiety go hand in hand. If you’re dealing with all three, one of the best herbs for stress and anxiety is valerian root.
The perennial flowering plant that grows mostly in Europe and Asia contains components that influence gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, which reduces the activity of the amygdala and hippocampus of the brain. Both of these can increase your perception of threats and, thus, worsen your feelings of stress and anxiety.
What is a neurotransmitter? These are chemical messengers that allow neurons to communicate.
Relax & Unwind is a supplement that contains valerian root. It can help normalize your sleep, especially if your burnout is keeping you awake at night.
3. Maca
Maca is another one of those herbs that can help make your life stress-free. It is a type of adaptogen, which means it allows your body to cope with the physiological and mental changes due to stress.
In one of the animal studies, mice that received maca experienced a reduction in corticosterone. It also boosted the production of noradrenaline and dopamine.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that provides you with a natural high, allowing you to derive pleasure from rewards. Noradrenaline, meanwhile, works similarly as adrenaline.
It can increase your heart rate, dilate your blood vessels, and widen the lungs for air. The biggest difference is it doesn’t have any stimulatory effect, so you don’t develop the feeling of fight-flight response.
It doesn’t come as a surprise why it’s one of the best herbs for increasing energy and vitality.
4. Kava Root
Stress is one of the daunting enemies for people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). It is a chronic pervasive type of anxiety that can be debilitating.
It’s not the easiest mental health disorder to treat, but some herbs showed efficacy. One of the natural herbs for stress and anxiety is kava root.
A common crop in the Pacific Islands, kava works similarly as valerian root by working on enhancing the GABA pathway. The plant, however, is not hypnotic, so you can still function well.
Do you currently use any of these herbs in your daily routine? How have they affected your life?