Ashwagandha: The Ultimate Herb for Managing ADHD Naturally
Ashwagandha for ADHD and sleep disorders, a personal study.
In my last post I have mentioned that I’ll be discussing briefly about the usage of individual herbs with regard to their efficacy towards attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sleep disorders.
Ashwagandha is the first herb I will be discussing in a series of articles describing my personal observations of using different herbs for managing ADHD and sleep issues naturally.
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an Indian ayurvedic herb well-known for its monikers, cure-all herb or queen of herbs. It’s popularly known as Indian ginseng and a well-studied adaptogen.
Many herbs are multifunctional and same herb is used for different diseases in different formulations by the naturopaths or ayurvedic physicians or in other traditional medical systems.
Since my interest is reducing attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behaviors and sleep issues of my son with naturopathic methods, I will focus on ashwagandha’s usage in this regard.
I will discuss briefly here about its clinical studies, kinds of available preparations, mechanism of action in reducing hyperactivity and improving sleep and finally my personal journey in using it apart from side effects if any.
Ashwagandha Uses:
Ashwagandha is one of the well-studied herbs by modern scientific methods. It’s been studied clinically by modern clinical practices in managing stress and anxiety apart from many other chronic disorders.
There are also specific clinical studies conducted for usage of ashwagandha for sleep disorders. In majority of these studies KSM-66 (root extract) preparation with a dosage of 600 mg/day for an 8-week duration was conducted. These studies conclude that ashwagandha is beneficial in both subjective and objective means for sleep disorders.
However, the clinical studies conducted were only on small clinical populations and come with attached limitations. The research process is a slower one and larger population studies may or may not happen at all in near future. Persons like us need to take a cautionary approach while using any of the herbal supplements based on the scientific literature for the intended use. Fortunately, with regard to ashwagandha there are no, or only mild adverse events reported in the clinical studies.
Ashwagandha preparations and their clinical studies:
As it’s a widely researched herb several kinds of preparations are commercially available around the world through e-commerce sites. For consistent results it’s advised to use standardized preparations as other preparations may have inconsistent compositions thus resulting in inconsistent results.
Apart from non-standardized root powders and standardized root extracts, few other trademark preparations such as KSM-66 (root extract, >5% active ingredients), Sensoril (root and leaf extract, >10% active ingredients), and Shoden (full spectrum root and sleep extract, 35% active ingredients) also available and may be used according to the label suggestions.
KSM-66 is the clinically well-researched preparation compared to other two and proven to be safe. Whereas Sensoril is in between KSM-66 and Shoden preparations and also proven to be safe. While Shoden is the newest entrant in this area and less studied and clinically it’s also proven albeit in fewer studies compared to the earlier two.
Of late sustained release capsule (Prolanza or Ashwanova) of ashwagandha has also been studied clinically for its efficacy and safety. The clinical study using this preparation has also been found to be beneficial for reduction in stress levels and in aiding sleep quality as well while being generally safe. Interestingly 300 mg capsule once a daily protocol was followed in this study unlike twice a day in earlier studies. It’s not available in the broader market yet and may be in the process of getting ready for market while clearing regulatory procedures.
Further pharmacological studies on isolated active ingredients from the root extracts is also ongoing and in future may result in a targeted therapy with respect to the disorder while using specific active ingredients of these extracts of the plant.
Ashwagandha mechanism of action:
Mechanistically, it’s believed the anxiolytic effects of ashwagandha intervention are derived from its influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The biomarker for stress, serum cortisol, is reduced in statistically significant manner in 85% of clinical studies reported in the literature. It’s the strongest support for therapeutic effect of ashwagandha in the reduction of stress and anxiety. Whereas for sleep disorders the research studies indicated that it is acting through GABAergic activity.
Personal Journey with Ashwagandha:
There are several factors responsible for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). There is a deep interplay between hyperactivity in ADHD persons and higher levels of stress and anxiety. If we can address stressors, then we will have a proper handle on hyperactivity. There are many ways to address the stress and anxiety, and using herbal preparations is one of them.
In 85% (6/7) of the human clinical studies Ashwagandha was found to reduce chronic stress and anxiety in individuals during the test period.
The above evidence is sufficient for me to believe it’ll be useful in helping to reduce my son’s hyperactivity.
For my son’s hyperactivity in the daytime and insomnia in the night-time, it’s the best herb I could have asked for because it works like a double-edged sword in his case, i.e. one natural supplement against two indications.
Commercially available standardized ashwagandha extract (not a specific trademark, standardized for 7% withanolides) capsule as suggested on the label was used twice a day on its own has helped my son manage his hyperactivity in the day and sleep better in the night. I have not tried yet any other trademark preparations such as KSM-66, Sensoril or Shoden.
Further a protocol wherein once a day ashwagandha protocol in conjunction with some oils, different herbal decoctions and biochemical supplements has also helped him stay calmer in the day and sleep well in the night.
Those details I’ll publish as part of broader protocols used in managing hyperactivity in my future articles.
Ashwagandha side effects:
The reported side effects such as nausea, dizziness, or diarrhea are mild and moderate in some clinical studies when used as suggested.
However, in the case of my son who’s more than 25 years old ashwagandha has been used for a shorter duration, at a stretch maximum for 6 weeks or less, and no side effects were observed whatsoever.
In the next post I’ll be discussing about Valerian herb and the second-best herb after ashwagandha which helped my son manage his hyperactivity and sleep issues.
Until then cheers,
Vara
