Stress and poor sleep are significant public health issues that can adversely affect well-being and daily functioning. While individual supplements, such as adaptogens and sleep aids, have shown potential benefits, few studies have investigated their combined effects, particularly in healthy populations. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a multi-compound dietary supplement on stress, mood, and sleep quality.
Methods
The study utilized a double-blind, placebo-controlled design involving 103 healthy physically active adults (53 females; average age 34.8 years; average BMI 24.0 kg/m²). Participants were randomized into four treatment groups: 1) AMPM (active morning and active evening), 2) AM (active morning and placebo evening), 3) PM (placebo morning and active evening), and 4) PL (placebo morning and placebo evening).
The AM group received 600 mg of ashwagandha and 300 mg of Rhodiola rosea in the morning, while the PM group received 2 g of Magnesium L-threonate, 200 mg of L-theanine, and 50 mg of apigenin in the evening. The total duration of the study was four weeks, including one baseline week, two weeks of supplementation, and one washout week.
Participants completed daily stress questionnaires and weekly assessments of perceived stress, mood, and subjective sleep quality using the PROMIS and PSQI scales. Objective sleep data were collected nightly through a wearable sleep monitoring device. Data analysis involved baseline-adjusted linear mixed-effects models with a significance level set at 0.05.
Results
The AM group exhibited a significant decrease in weekly perceived stress (p = 0.034; η² = 0.020). Positive affect improved significantly in the AM group at the end of the cessation period (p = 0.003; d = 1.68), while the AMPM group showed a decrease (p = 0.009; d = 0.16). Additionally, the AM group reported reduced subjective sleep-related impairments (p = 0.032, d = 2.74) and improved objective wake after sleep onset (p = 0.047, η² = 0.020). The PSQI scores indicated significantly better subjective sleep quality in the AM group compared to the AMPM group (mean difference = 0.66 AU, p < 0.001, d = 1.45).
Conclusions
Morning supplementation with adaptogens, specifically ashwagandha and Rhodiola rosea, was associated with improvements in subjective stress, sleep quality, and positive affect after 14 days among healthy physically active adults compared to placebo. However, minimal effects on other outcomes suggest limited benefits in healthy individuals over a short supplementation duration. Future research should explore longer interventions and populations with higher baseline stress and sleep disturbances.
What this study does not show
This study does not demonstrate long-term effects or benefits in populations with significant stress or sleep disturbances, nor does it provide evidence for the efficacy of the evening supplements.
Evidence scorecard
- Analytic validity: established
- Clinical validity: established
- Clinical utility: established