Data published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, indicated that 14 days of supplementation with 600 mg ashwagandha and 300 mg Rhodiola rosea in the morning led to significant improvements in perceived stress, sleep-related impairments, and sleep quality, compared to placebo.
“Collectively, these findings suggest that morning supplementation with ashwagandha and R. rosea may be a strategy to improve stress, sleep quality, and mood in healthy, physically active adults, without the need for more complex daytime/nighttime supplementation protocols,” wrote the authors, led by Gianna Mastrofini.
Adaptogens
Ashwagandha and Rhodiola are both considered adaptogenic herbs, which are proposed to enhance physiological resilience to stress.
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) has a history of use in Ayurvedic medicine that dates back as much as 4,000 years to the teaching of renowned scholar Punarvasu Atreya and in subsequent works that make up the Ayurvedic tradition, according to a monograph from the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP). The name of the herb derives from Sanskrit, and means “smells like a horse”, in reference to the strong smell of the root which is said to be redolent of horse sweat or urine.
According to the most recent Herb Market Report from the American Botanical Council (HerbalGram #144), sales of herbal supplements with ashwagandha as the primary functional ingredient were almost $166 million across the mainstream and natural retail channels. Sales of ashwagandha grew 13.8% year-on-year in the mainstream channel, while a 6% increase was recorded in the natural channel.
Rhodiola, a perennial herb that mostly grows at high altitudes in arctic areas of Europe and Asia. Forms of the herb in trade include dry extracts in solid dosage forms such as capsules and tablets, liquid extracts, cut, dried rhizome and root and powdered rhizome and root.
It has traditionally been used to manage stress, mental and physical fatigue and depression and to boost energy.
The new study used a product formulated with an ashwagandha extract standardized to 3.5% total withanolides (NooGandha from Specnova) and R. rosea root extract standardized to 3% rosavins and 2% salidroside. The supplements were produced by Momentous LLC. Park City, Utah-based Momentous funded the study.
Study details
The South Carolina-based scientists recruited 103 healthy physically active adults to participate in their double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups with combinations of a morning supplement (ashwagandha plus Rhodiola), an evening supplement (Magnesium L-threonate, L-theanine, and apigenin) or placebo. Group 1 received both the morning and evening supplements; group 2 received the morning supplement plus evening placebo; group 3 received the morning placebo and the evening supplements; and group 4 received placebos in the morning and the evening.
Sleep and stress were measured using the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and objective sleep data were collected using a wearable sleep monitor.
Results showed that the morning supplement was associated with improvements in weekly but not daily perceived stress. The morning supplement also decreased subjective sleep-related impairments and objective wake after sleep onset. Subjective sleep quality, measured using PSQI, was significantly improved in the morning supplement group.
On the other hand, the combination of the morning and evening supplements was associated with less favorable stress and sleep measures, while evening supplementation alone was associated with a decrease in wake after sleep onset, which is the amount of time spent awake after initial sleep onset and prior to awakening.
“The positive findings for the AM group are consistent with prior literature on adaptogens in that several trials report reductions in PSS [perceived stress scale] scores following supplementation with ashwagandha or R. rosea,” wrote the researchers. “The use of a healthy sample, as in the present study, gives further evidence of the efficacy of ashwagandha and R. rosea.”
They called for future studies to compare potential responses between healthy and high-stress or poor sleep populations. The researchers also recommend longer studies that incorporated subjective and objective outcome measures.
Source: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. doi: 10.1080/15502783.2026.2740227. “Modulating stress and sleep through a multi-compound dietary supplement: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial”. Authors: G.F. Mastrofini, et al.
