Ashwagandha

surging ashwagandha — attention is ahead of the evidence

⚠ Safety in context

moderatewith SSRI: Ashwagandha with an SSRI may carry additive sedative/serotonergic risk; evidence is limited.
moderatewith St. John's Wort: Two serotonergic/sedating botanicals together may have additive effects.

Evidence by outcome

strengthgrade Bmoderate certainty— Ashwagandha supplementation was more efficacious than placebo for improving strength/power variables in healthy individuals.

energy / fatiguegrade Bmoderate certainty— Ashwagandha supplementation was more efficacious than placebo for improving fatigue/recovery variables in healthy individuals.

sleepgrade Clow certainty— small, early-stage effect on sleep

stressgrade Clow certainty— small reduction in perceived stress in short trials

sleepgrade Clow certainty— may improve subjective sleep quality, particularly with stress-related insomnia

cognitiongrade Clow certainty— preliminary improvements in memory/executive function; small trials

People say · Evidence shows

“Ashwagandha balances cortisol”

aheadlargemechanistic speculation

What changed

untested → C (2026-02-10) — Additional small RCTs moved stress from untested to a weak, gradeable effect.

Compare

Ashwagandha with SSRI

sources: PMID:33670194 · PMID:00000002 · PMID:00000012 · PMID:20000112 · PMID:42220661