Rhodiola Rosea for Reducing Anxiety and Stress
Rhodiola rosea is one of my favorite supplements for reducing stress and anxiety. This is because rhodiola is one of the few non-drowsy anxiety supplements out there. If you have social anxiety, general anxiety disorder (GAD), panic attacks, or you just feel nervous in general, then you’ll often need a supplement that will make you feel calm but not sleepy.
Rhodiola reduces the stress hormone cortisol significantly, and it makes a lot of people feel very relaxed, focused, and terrific because it also stimulates the production of dopamine and serotonin – the body’s “happy” or “feel good” neurotransmitters.
One word of caution here is that the dose of is very important. High quality standardized rhodiola is extremely potent. While you may feel great from 200mg, you may also find that 400mg is way too much and could even cause your anxiety to worsen. This really depends on the type of rhodiola and the person (People vary quite a bit with their individual responses.) Where you buy the supplement matters a lot too. The strains are all different, the potencies are different too. We use an organic rhodiola from Tibet, which is standardized to 3.5% rosavins and 2.5% salidrosides (the 2 main groups of active ingredients) We have a lot of repeat customers all over the world who swear by it for both stress and anxiety.
Rhodiola has been used successfully for thousands of years for people looking to reduce both physical and mental stress, as well as increase their stamina. It is well known for giving Russian athletes a huge edge over their American counterparts in the past, as well as helping stressed out university students during their exams.
There have been more and more studies coming out recently about the positive effects rhodiola has on reducing anxiety.
Here is one study where the participants who took rhodiola extract for 10 weeks showed significantly lower anxiety levels on the HARS test (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale)
Here is another study done in 2015 where the participants who took rhodiola noticed less anxiety, less stress, less anger, and even less confusion and depression.
Rhodiola is also great to “stack” or combine with other calming or anxiety reducing supplements. Here is a very interesting article on the combination with ashwagandha. It goes into even more detail on how both herbs work individually and in combination with regards to stress, stamina, and anxiety (and a long list of other health benefits) It works great with L-Theanine as well.
We have a lot of customers who take our rhodiola, ashwagandha, and L-Theanine during the day, and then take ashwagandha and SleepX together at night. This daytime blend makes them less stressed, less anxious, more confident, and gives them a better mood. It also gives them energy and doesn’t put them to sleep.
The ashwagandha and SleepX combo helps them fall asleep and stay asleep. It also helps them wake up the following day feeling refreshed and less anxious. You may also be interested in our daytime anxiety blend Zen+. It contains our rhodiola, KSM-66 ashwagandha, and l-theanine along with other calming herbs and aminos.