insomnia woman on bed with sheeps design, sleep and night theme Vector illustration

Imagine, if you will, a population without a single sleep issue, residents young and old all sleeping perfectly. How could this be possible? Many do not know this, but there’s a part of the world where sleep issues are essentially obsolete. Specifically, rural India.

 

Medical researchers have spent years studying the culture, climate, traditions and many other facets of their lives to understand the reason why sleep deprivation is nonexistent. The answer came from a very unlikely discovery. It all had to do with a rare, local herb that had incredible effects on sleep and relaxation. This herb was so rare, the medical scientists have never seen anything like it.

 

Ashwagandha Benefits At a Glance

 

In today’s blog, we’ll be discussing:

  • A rare, powerful, all-natural sleeping aid that has been helping people get to sleep for over 5,000 years.
  • Why it’s so important to get rest, as well as the negative side effects of both sleep deprivation and pharmaceutical sleeping aids.
  • The benefits of this sleep assisting herb offers and how it works.
  • Forms of the herbal supplement, as well as the appropriate daily allowance, when it should be consumed, and side effects to be wary of.

 

Ashwagandha is the Wonder Root that Fights Insomnia 

 

So, what’s this incredibly potent, sleep-inducing root? It is none of other than rare, Indian Withania Somnifera, also commonly referred to as ashwagandha root. It’s rare because it only grows in the drier regions of India, where the climate is sticky, hot and wet.

 

This incredibly potent root has been used for years due to its sleep and relaxation benefits. By consuming it on a daily basis, tribe members were able to get perfect, rehabilitating sleep. This ensured they were energetic and ready to go for the next day of fighting or hunting.

In the Indian culture, this is considered a sleep necessity. But why?

 

Modern scientists have figured out that ashwagandha normalizes and stabilizes the stress hormone cortisol. This is the hormone that is killing your sleep. When it is heightened, your body is physically unable to fall asleep, without being knocked out.

 

The CDC Announces a Sleep Deprivation Epidemic

 

As a nation, it has turned into an absolute chronic problem affecting all our lives. Think about it. How long has it been since you have had a rejuvenating, full night’s rest? Weeks? Years? Sure, we normally get one or two nights occasionally, but then it’s right back to exhaustion. But what if you could change that? What if you could go to sleep every single night knowing you would sleep like a baby, for hours?

It has gotten so bad, even the Center for Disease Control (the CDC) has gotten involved. As of 2017, the CDC raised America’s fight to sleep to epidemic status. According to their reports:

  • 50 million people can’t concentrate due to lack of sleep.
  • 24 million people stated lack of sleep has interfered with driving safety
  • 18 million people said sleep interfered with job performance.

Here’s the bottom line: When you’re sleep deprived, you feel terrible and function worse. But that is not the biggest problem, as your sleep time is when your body heals and defends itself. Without that, you’re far more susceptible to life changing or life ending disease.

It’s no secret that most chronic health problems are accelerated by insomnia and a lack of restful sleep. Sleep is your body’s way of healing and rebuilding. When you sleep better, your brain and essential organs function better, stress levels go down and happiness goes up. And most of us would give anything to boost mood, energy and ensure a happy life, right?

No one likes the feeling of being tired and sluggish and wishing for a nap all day. Unfortunately, that is the norm for most of us. But we all had those days where we wake up, feeling refreshed and great. Think back to the days as you rose out of bed, full of energy and ready to start the day. You awake alert and focused; your mood is better, and you can accomplish far more.

We all want ways to feel better and younger daily. It turns out the secret could be as close as our comfy bed. Most of us are sleep deprived and the issue gets worse as we age. However, if we can nourish our bodies with proper sleep we nearly instantly feel years younger.

There are readers that are reading this article right now that will simply proclaim, “Well, I just take sleeping pills”. Fair, but do realize that this rare root is so powerful, it was named after a saying, “The Strength of a Horse”. Why? For those who consumed it, they were able to rest, repair and awake stronger and healthier than ever. There’s also over 5,000 years of reported science backs up this medical science breakthrough. And, if anything else, sleeping pills are causing serious issues.

First off, sleeping pills are actually considered “Sedative Hypnotics”. They work by depressing the central nervous system to cause sedation. This, in itself, seems scary, and these medications come with a huge number of dangerous, harmful side effects, especially for those that have any sort of respiratory or lung disorder.

Common Side Effects of Pharmaceutical Sleeping Pills Include:

  • Burning or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or legs
  • Changes in appetite
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Difficulty keeping balance
  • Dizziness
  • Daytime drowsiness
  • Dry mouth or throat
  • Gas
  • Headaches
  • Heartburn
  • Impairment the next day
  • Mental slowing or problems with attention or memory
  • Stomach pain or tenderness
  • Uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body
  • Unusual dreams
  • Weakness

This is a long, terrible list but, unfortunately, it only gets worse from here. The more complex side effects are the ones we hear about on the news. They are called Parasomnias, which is a terrifying state where you actively sleepwalk and are totally unaware of what you’re doing. Many people have communicated to others, talked on the phone and even drove vehicles in the state. This is life-threatening for you, your friends and family.

We all understand the need to sleep better, so the risk for sleeping pills may seem worth it. You struggle with sleep, so you take a pill. Sure, the pill knocks you out, but you wake up feeling sluggish and hung over. Then you wonder why you took it to begin with. Very counterproductive when the entire point of getting sleep is to wake up refreshed and energized, not tired and hungover.

Do you think lack of sleep has few consequences? Think again! The issue goes much deeper than just feeling a little run down. Here are 10 terrible consequences related to lack of sleep.

  • It Causes Accidents: A lack of sleep has been linked to some of the worst accidents in human history, including the nuclear issue at Three Mile Island, the massive Exxon Valdez spill and, of course, Chernobyl. These are terrifying, but sleepiness also causes over 100,000 auto crashes per year. A lack of sleep is a direct cause of horrific accidents.
  • It Makes You Less Sharp: As we age, we are already fighting declining mental health. A lack of sleep just makes it worse. Sleeplessness impedes cognitive functions, including attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem-solving.
  • Increased Disease Risk: This one is very to the point. Your lack of sleep hurts your immune system and you are at much higher risk of heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, and Diabetes.
  • Lack of Sex Drive: A lack of sleep lowers libido and sex drive in men and women. Sleep is hurting marriages around the country.
  • Causes Depression: Feeling tired every single day makes the entire body feel depressed. In many cases, this leads to chronic hopelessness and depression.
  • Ages You Faster: That’s Right. No one wants that! However, lack of sleep leads to lackluster skin, fine lines and dark circles.
  • Makes you Forgetful: In 2009, a groundbreaking study was able to prove that lack of sleep actually prevents your brain from retaining memories because it never reaches the level of deep sleep it needs to cement those memories.
  • Weight Gain: That’s right! A lack of sleep is now linked directly to weight gain. Those who sleep less have a 30% higher risk of not just weight gain, but full-blown obesity.
  • Directly Increases Death Risk: Yes, point blank, if you have trouble sleeping, your risk for premature death goes up by 50%. It Doubles.
  • It Chronically Impairs Judgement: A lack of sleep makes for exceedingly bad decisions based on the ongoing lack of sleep. This can hurt your family, health, and career.

Well, that was not a fun list at all. However, it is important to understand what lack of sleep in our population is really causing. What seems like a small issue is huge, and a lack of sleep is not normal, as we were built to rejuvenate properly.

The Benefits of Ashwagandha 

The effectiveness of withania somnifera all comes down to its natural ability to normalize the stress hormone, cortisol. In fact, organic withania somnifera, ashwagandha, is the only medically proven ingredients to quickly and efficiently normalize your cortisol to so can relax and finally get restful sleep. This is going to seem like common sense, but in order for you to fall asleep quickly and healthily, you need to be relaxed. And when it comes to relaxation, cortisol is your absolute worst enemy. It remains elevated and your body receives an energizing signal, keeping it awake. This leads to tossing, turning and complete exhaustion. And cortisol is no easy fix either.

It appears that everything in our life nowadays puts our body on “high alert” raising cortisol levels. These factors include our American diets, pesticides, pollution, EMF radiation, increasing diseases, and many other serious factors. The way we live our life predisposes us to high cortisol levels all day long.

This incredible sleep root does more than aid your sleep, it literally “relaxes” you to sleep. This is what makes it so unique and so powerful. As opposed to knocking you out, like other sleep aids, this miraculous root eases your hormones and allows you to drift into bliss. It does this by normalizing cortisol and allowing your sleep hormones to take effect, night after night. And this is not a sleep chemical, but, rather, a powerful way to naturally optimize your sleep pattern for the rest of your life.

Ashwagandha is extremely rare and only found in dry regions of India, during certain parts of the year that is. Up until now, supply was always extremely small and never yielded enough to make it to the United States, which is why you’ve probably never seen it on store shelves. It is way too rare and powerful; however, thanks to MIT, and their patented small batch extraction method, a conservative amount of bulk supply is now available.

In 2016, Emory Hospital Sleep Clinic conducted a 218 clinical survey study that was aimed at measuring the effects of withania somnifera and sleep. The participants would consume 1200 mg, twice per day and the results were simply astounding.

After just a single month, participants noted a 66% improvement in sleep quality. Every single participant saw a dramatic decrease in stress, which made it immediately easier to fall asleep and stay asleep longer. In an unexpected twist, emotional health improved by 42%, and overall life quality increased by 45.8%. In summation, the participants were able to participate in activities such as visiting friends and enjoying social activities.

This study proved what we already know, better sleep improves ALL aspects of your life. As this study progressed, the participants were tested for focus and concentration during a double-blind battery of tests. Significant cognitive improvements were seen in reaction-time tests, discrimination tests, and card sorting, among others. Better sleep dramatically improves your brain’s ability to function. Finally, these same participants were followed for the next year as they continued supplementation. Blood Counts increased, posture improved and increased hair melanin.

Overall, the facts speak for themselves. Withania somnifera is the strongest sleep ingredient ever identified and helps support better health in all aspects of life. The sleep and stress reduction benefits of ashwagandha are so profound, the Department of Neuropsychiatry, at the Asha Hospital, decided to conduct an FDA commissioned clinic trial.

The trial itself focused specifically on the safety and efficacy of ashwagandha as a full spectrum treatment for stress reduction and improved sleep. For the study, 64 subjects with chronic stress were enrolled after performing relevant clinical examinations. The results even shocked the researchers. They cited it was the strongest cortisol reducing treatment ever examined, even over and above pharmaceuticals.

The treatment group exhibited a significant reduction in scores on all the stress assessment scales in relation to placebo. Serum cortisol levels were substantially reduced, leading to relaxation and blissful sleep. This study successfully concluded that withania somnifera is a safe and effective treatment for lowering stress, cortisol levels and boosting REM sleep.

How to Take Ashwagandha and the Side Effects

Ashwagandha comes in pills, capsules, and tablets, as well as in liquid and tea form. You can also find ashwagandha oil for baths, great for relieving your body of stress and anxiety. But how much are you supposed to take to reap the benefits of sleep? The proper dosage of ashwagandha is kind of subjective, as the factors that play into it really depends on the state of your health and your age. The safest way to approach supplementation is to read the instructions on the nutritional facts label or get in touch with your health care provider prior to ingesting the herb.

If you’re taking a pill or capsule orally, maybe keep it around a 1 to 6-gram daily allowance. If you are getting your supplementation in a liquid form, via a tincture, take 2 to 4 ml daily. And for those tea drinkers out there, you can take up to three cups a day, with a 1 to 6-gram mixture of the herb.

One of the interesting things about ashwagandha is that it can help give you energy and provide for you a good night’s sleep, depending on when you take it. If you were to take the herb right before you go for a workout, or any strenuous, physical activity, you will get a burst of strength, endurance, and recovery. If you were to take it prior to lying down to bed, it will reduce the amount of cortisol, making you less stressed, and ease you into sleep.

Short-term use has yielded very little to no negative side effects; therefore, ashwagandha has been regarded as safe and very healthy. However, an overdose of the root can hurt you. Side effects might include:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Lower or high blood pressure
  • Lower blood sugar
  • Thyroid disorders
  • Allergic reactions
  • Drowsiness
  • Dry mouth
  • Liver Damage
  • Impotence
  • Fever
  • Internal bleeding
  • Miscarriage

One of the more bizarre, possible side effects is that it can potentially make an autoimmune disease, like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, more active, subsequently, making the symptoms of the disease much worse. If you suffer from one of the two autoimmune disease mentioned above, along with multiple sclerosis or Guillain-Barre syndrome, you might want to skip this one. Same if you have peptic ulcers, as the gastrointestinal distress will not help.

A World Without Chronic Sleep Problems is Possible with Ashwagandha

Maximizing your sleep is the single easiest thing you can to feel more energized and healthier. Sleep is nature’s way of healing, and how it helps the body recuperate and defend itself. Without good sleep, your defense systems are at a major disadvantage. Think about it. Most of us are dealing with some sort of ailment that we want to conquer, from nuisance sicknesses to chronic disease. How can we defend ourselves and feel good without solid sleep? The answer is, we can’t.

The moment you start to sleep better you will feel health pulse back through your veins. This is your key to a happy and healthy future. Not being able to sleep feels like a prison sentence that never ends, and it literally ruins every day due to lack of energy and focus. And quite honestly, a lack of sleep makes you feel old!

After all this data, why is ashwagandha root not on the shelves of every health store, being consumed for better sleep? Very simple, it’s very rare and very difficult to extract. Therefore, it is not overly profitable to sell, therefore the health behemoth’s do not sell it for profit. But, then again, when was the last time a store-bought product worked for you? Mmm-hmmm. That’s what I thought.

 

 

 

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