Fight stress with traditional Ayurvedic herbs. New scientific evidence

Stress is a condition that results from external physical or mental overload. It can lead to nervousness, anxiety and a reduced ability to respond fully and normally to environmental demands, associated with sleep disorders, mental tiredness, lack of energy, difficulty concentrating and memorizing.
Stress causes a systemic increase in hormones, such as cortisol, which can lead to changes in eating behavior, increased visceral adiposity, metabolic syndrome, and increased body weight. It also contributes to increasing a pattern of chronic inflammation that can compromise the body's functions related to cardiovascular health, cognitive functions, digestion, metabolism, and more. Some herbs have been selected and used for thousands of years in various traditional medicines as cognitive enhancers and in the treatment of stress and depression. They are classified as adaptogenic as they improve the individual's ability to cope with stress, decreasing stress-induced damage, without negative effects such as withdrawal symptoms and without affecting normal functions. For example, from the age-old Ayurvedic tradition, the Ashwagandha root (Withania somnifera) has been used as an adaptogenic tonic, anti-stress and nootropic for the treatment of general debilitation, nervous exhaustion, insomnia and memory dysfunction. A recent review in the scientific literature reports and confirms interesting activities for the Ashwagandha extract with a content of at least 5% in active constituents withanolides). It is able to improve memory, support sexual functions, increase cellular immunity, contribute to the increase in muscle mass, significantly improve aerobic performance in well-trained athletes, increase cardiorespiratory endurance and improves the quality of life in healthy adults .
Ashwagandha extracts also protect neuronal cells from different types of stress factors that alter brain functions and lead to predisposition to strokes and neurodegenerative diseases.