Is Ashwagandha Good for Sleep?

Deep restorative sleep is one of the common things we hear from customers about why they love our Ashwagandha Tincture. Customers often remark that they have tried everything, and they count on it to be assured a restful night’s sleep.

Many are surprised to learn that Ashwagandha is an extremely effective sleep aid. People tend to think of Ashwagandha as the "strong person herb," which is not wrong, though it’s Latin name Withania somnifera points to other use; somnifera being latin for sleep inducing.

Recent studies in Japan have isolated the compound attributed to sleep, this is detailed in the peer reviewed article "Triethylene Glycol, an Active Component of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Leaves, is Responsible For Sleep Induction" published on PubMed. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5313221/). 

A full and sound night’s rest can be critical to reaching our maximum potential. The ability to relax greatly increases the body’s ability to recover from both daily stress and the accumulated stresses of life. Besides supporting balanced hormones, relaxation and sleep are some –among many– of the best benefits that Ashwagandha has to offer.

An Ashwagandha sleep practice I often recommend to people, as an “extra credit assignment” is the following:

After a deep Ashwagandha sleep, upon waking, as the gravity holds you and the awareness comes back, pause and feel the body, the grounding energy. As the body is already quite relaxed, take this opportunity to take intentional deep breaths, and let any tension release. After this exercise, most come back to us and say “I didn't know I could relax this much.”

We suggest ¼ dropper of our Ashwagandha Tincture during the day, a little bit more (½ dropper) for the deep restorative sleep benefit. Taken just before bed, folks find it easier to both fall asleep and stay asleep, waking up fresh and clear. Many leave our Ashwagandha Tincture on their bed stand. Some just use it at 2:30 am after returning from the bathroom. 

A story worth mentioning, is the experience that a customer “Jane” and a handful of others have had. Jane had wonderful sleep experience with our Ashwagandha Tincture, but after some time Jane suspected it might not be working any more. When we checked in about how much she was taking, she said she had doubled her serving from a single half-dropper to 2 half-droppers. When she reduced her serving to the suggested amount, the sleep benefit returned. It is a common theme we see that when too much is taken it can prevent sleep.  

Dreams and Ashwagandha

In the book The Yoga of Herbs, it is said that Ashwagandha promotes deep dreamless sleep.  While the deep sleep is true we have heard many stories about vivid dreaming while taking Ashwagandha. Some have mentioned that they were having recurring nightmares, but once they started taking the Ashwagandha the nightmares stopped and good dreams began. Some report having strange and unusually vivid dreams during the first few days of taking Ashwagandha. We think perhaps it is in the way it helps us let go, and release the stress and tension that allows bad dreams to change into better ones.

We hope everyone gets the deep restorative sleep they need. If you need any sleep support, don’t hesitate to reach out. Or if you have any interesting stories about Ashwagandha and sleep, we love to hear them! Warm Ashwagandha wishes and deep rest to all.

Frawley, David, and Vasant Lad. The Yoga of Herbs: an Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine. Motilal Banarsidass, 2016.