Everyone has stressors in life, with factors related to job pressure, money, health, and relationships tending to be the most common.
A quick look at the best supplements for stress
Stress can be acute or chronic and can lead to fatigue, headaches, upset stomach, nervousness, and irritability or anger.
Exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and eating a nutritious diet are some of the best ways to better equip your body to handle stress, but several vitamins and supplements can also help.
Here are the seven best vitamins and supplements that may help you manage stress.
Healthline’s picks for the best vitamins and supplements for stress
Growing in areas of Russia and Asia, rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea) is a herb.
Long recognised as an adaptogen—a naturally occurring, benign herb that boosts stress resistance—it enhances your body’s stress response system (1).
Two of the strong active components of rhodiola—rosavin and salidroside—have adaptogenic effects connected to each other.
Supplementing with 400 milligrammes (mg) of rhodiola extract daily alleviated symptoms after just one week (3) according to a small 8-week research including 100 patients with chronic fatigue symptoms included poor sleep quality and impairments in short-term memory and focus.
Throughout the trial, the symptoms of the participants were getting better.
Similarly, in one small good quality trial including 80 individuals with mild anxiety, researchers discovered that those who took 400 mg of rhodiola daily showed notable reductions in stress and anxiety following two weeks when compared to those who got no treatment (4).
HUM Nutrition Big Chill is among the greatest choices if you would want to try rhodiola.
500 mg of R. rosea extract per serving makes up the clinically investigated effective dosage of the supplement. Furthermore free of artificial sweeteners and colours, it is third-party tested.
Pros & cons
- third-party tested
- non-GMO
- vegan-friendly
- one-a-day formulation
- requires a subscription
Product details
- Form: capsule
- Certifications: third-party tested for purity and potency, non-GMO project verified
- Returns: returns within 30 days
- Shipping: free shipping on orders over $50
Best with melatonin
Life Extension Melatonin IR/XR
A natural hormone, melatonin controls your body’s circadian rhythm—that is, the sleep-wake cycle.
Hormone levels rise in the evening when it is dark to aid in sleep and drop in the morning when it is light to help in alertness.
According to several studies, melatonin supplements could aid since stress is related to insomnia.
One analysis of seven high-quality trials with 205 individuals looked at how well melatonin managed secondary sleep disorders—those resulting from another condition, say stress or depression.
Melatonin, the researchers found, shortened the time it took individuals to fall asleep and raised total sleep duration but did not appreciably change sleep quality as compared with a placebo (8).
Doses as little as 0.5 mg per night have been reported in randomised controlled trials to be beneficial.
Although melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone, adding it to your regimen has no effect on how much your body generates. Although melatonin is likewise non-habit-forming, if needed start with the lowest dose and build up to a greater amount.
Life Extension IR/XR Magnesium is an excellent choice if you discover that stress is causing difficulty sleeping and you would want to test a melatonin supplement. With 1.5 mg of both immediate- and extended-release melatonin in total, the supplement might help you fall asleep and stay asleep all through the night.
One reputable company that produces its supplements using criteria higher than those set by the FDA is Life Extension Additionally third-party tested are the company’s raw supplies.
Though some Life Extension products are third-party tested, its Melatonin IR/XR is not.
