Ashwagandha
Of all the adaptogens studied for adrenal recovery, ashwagandha has the most rigorous human trial data behind it. A 2012 double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (Chandrasekhar et al.) found that adults taking 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice daily for 60 days showed a 27.9% reduction in serum cortisol compared to placebo. The participants also reported significantly lower scores on the Perceived Stress Scale. The mechanism: ashwagandha's withanolides act on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the same stress-signalling chain that burnout dysregulates. A teaspoon of ashwagandha powder stirred into warm milk at night is the most common delivery method. If you are on thyroid medication, check with your doctor first, the herb has mild thyroid-stimulating properties.
