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Randomized trial · measured the question itself

30-day trial in 60 healthy students: no clear stress difference with ashwagandha

O'Connor and colleagues · Journal of medicinal food · 2022

Original title: The Impact of Ashwagandha on Stress, Sleep Quality, and Food Cravings in College Students: Quantitative Analysis of a Double-Blind Randomized Control Trial.

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What the study found

No difference

The first test of stress and sleep together was not significant. Follow-up tests showed better final sleep with ashwagandha (58.4 ± 12.4 vs. 48.2 ± 15.0, P < .05) and lower food cravings. No clear stress difference is stated.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Randomized trial
Who or what was studied
60 people · healthy college students
What was tested
700 mg a day of ashwagandha root extract for 30 days, vs placebo
What it measured
The question itself: stress, anxiety and cortisol
Daily amount
700 mg a day
How long
4.3 weeks
Trial registration
NCT05430685
Who has a stake
No disclosure in PubMed
No disclosure in PubMed.
Journal
Journal of medicinal food, 2022
Source
PubMed record 35984871. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Randomized: people were put into groups by chance, so the groups start out alike.
  • ✓Compared with a placebo, a dummy treatment.
  • •Medium size: 60 people.
  • –Short: 4.3 weeks. Longer-term effects are unknown.
  • ✓Measured the question itself: stress, anxiety and cortisol.
  • •The PubMed record has no conflict-of-interest statement.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

Each dot is one on-topic paper on this question. Steps near the top answer the question more directly.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: stress and anxiety

    9

    7 benefit, 2 no difference

    ↑ This study is the ringed dot

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    6

    3 benefit, 1 mixed, 1 no difference, 1 no direction

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    1

    1 benefit

  4. Population studies

    1

    1 benefit

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does ashwagandha reduce stress and anxiety?”

Possibly, but the evidence is weak.

Confidence: low. Based on 24 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer

Of the other 8 papers on the same step: 7 benefit, 1 no difference. This one found no difference. It differs from most of them.

Other papers on the same step

See all 24 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The two reads differed. The reviewer checked the abstract and kept the first read. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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