Sleep deprived, stressed, neglected, tired, dazed and confused – these are some of the badges new mum’s wear. Having a new-born in the house is probably one of the most underrated stressors in our lifetime. New mums must adapt to a different, very demanding chapter of life and this is where an adaptogen can help.
Ashwagandha is one such adaptogen that is perfectly suited to support women on their journey through motherhood. Ashwagandha has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years, it is classified as a Rasayana – a substance used to enhance vitality, energy, and overall wellbeing. In fact, it used to be said that consuming Ashwagandha would give one “the strength and endurance of a horse”. Ashwagandha acts on multiple systems in the body, including our hormones, nerves, immune system, and even energy production, to help us adapt to stressors in our lives.
It is important to make sure that when you use herbal medicine you are using an extract that provides enough of the actives to ensure that you get the therapeutic effect you need. That is why I love Bio-Shoden® Ashwagandha as it is standardized to contain 35% of the actives responsible for Ashwagandha’s therapeutic activity.
Considering that new moms have very little time to sleep, you absolutely want to make sure that any chance you do get to rest is maximized. These precious moments of sleep have got to be restorative, and this is where something like Ashwagandha can help. It is about improving the quality of sleep when quantity is limited. According to recent research Shoden® Ashwagandha has been shown to significantly improve sleep quality (Desphande, et. al. 2020).
It makes sense that when we are well rested and have had restorative sleep, we will be able to focus better; and so “mommy brain” won’t be such a problem. Shoden® Ashwagandha has shown to improve attention, memory, and information processing speed according to a trial done in India. (Choudhary et. al 2017)
Cortisol is our stress hormone and morning cortisol would normally be undesirably high when we are in a stressed state, however, a clinical study showed that Shoden® Ashwagandha may reduce morning cortisol levels significantly and symptoms of stress by 30% (Lopresti et. al. 2019)
For new mums the idea of your memory working at full capacity, being able to stay focussed, feel rested and revived and not stressed is an unthinkable luxury. Thankfully an adaptogen like Bio Shoden® Ashwagandha could help you feel all these things and make the journey of motherhood a little more manageable and as special as it should be.
By Cobus Botha,
Natural Health Expert
| References |
|---|
| Choudhary, D., Bhattacharyya, S., & Bose, S. (2017). Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal) Root Extract in Improving Memory and Cognitive Functions. Journal of dietary supplements, 1, 4(6), 599–612. DOI |
| Deshpande, A., Irani, N., Balkrishnan, R., & Benny, I. R. (2020). A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the effects of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on sleep quality in healthy adults. Sleep medicine, 72, 28–36. DOI |
| Lopresti, A. L., Smith, S. J., Malvi, H., & Kodgule, R. (2019). An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Medicine, 98(37), e17186. DOI |
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