This admission isn’t an easy one, but regardless of your age, status, or lifestyle, everyone experiences stress. Especially coming off the heels of a global pandemic, there’s no hiding it — the world is entrenched in stress.

Unfortunately, it’s taking a toll on our health. According to the Recovery Village, about 33 percent of people say they’re stressed, and 77 percent of people say they’re experiencing so much stress, it’s affecting their physical health.

However, New U Life has discovered how a somewhat magical medicinal herb, ashwagandha, can help. Founded in 2017, New U Life is a whole-body health company that specializes in promoting healthy, balanced living through various natural health supplements. NeuraVie®, one of the company’s top products, harnesses the power of ashwagandha, to promote healthy cognitive function.

“This year has been especially tough for everyone. Now more than ever, people need a solution to their stress. Ashwagandha is a proven ingredient to alleviate both stress and anxiety, and New U Life has found a way to utilize that ingredient to change how our bodies respond to stress,” explains Alexy Goldstein, New U Life’s founder.

Stress is a relatively common state of mental strain, but here’s how ashwagandha can help improve your overall health while simultaneously reducing stress and anxiety.

Reduces Stress and Anxiety

When you experience an extreme amount of stress, your body releases cortisol, also called the “fight-or-flight” hormone. Cortisol is produced in your adrenal glands and functions as the body’s built-in alarm system. The hormone works in certain parts of the brain to control people’s moods, fears, and motivations.

The more stress a person experiences, the more trauma their mental and physical health has to withstand. Particularly high-stress levels can result in lasting health problems, like heart issues and reduced immunity.

Extensive research has led many scientists to believe that ashwagandha reduces cortisol levels, thus reducing stress and the effects it has on your body.

One case study shows how researchers further investigated the effects of ashwagandha. After taking ashwagandha for 60 days, a group of individuals reported a 44 percent decrease in their stress levels and a 28 percent drop in cortisol levels. Additionally, the group discovered about a 70 percent reduction in anxiety, insomnia, and depression.

“When people go through extremely high levels of pressure, it essentially changes the way your body and mind operate. Suddenly, you have this immediate feeling of impending doom, and that can affect your thoughts, emotions, and actions,” notes Goldstein.

“Perhaps the biggest thing ashwagandha is known for is improving how the body deals with this kind of stress, and since the overwhelming majority of humanity has at one point experienced this feeling, we felt it our duty at New U Life to create products that support this solution.”

Reduces Risk of Chronic Illnesses

For centuries, ashwagandha was used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat chronic illnesses and help protect the body’s cells from damage caused by aging or extremely active lifestyles. In fact, the herb’s name translates to “smell of the horse,” serving as an indication of its ability to increase the body’s strength and vigor — much like that of a horse.

Ashwagandha also contains strong anti-inflammatory properties, and many studies show how inflammation triggers the onset of aging. Additionally, long-term stress can contribute to ongoing inflammation, which also increases the body’s risk of succumbing to chronic diseases.

While inflammation is the body’s natural response to stress or infection, extreme levels of inflammation can result in long-term health problems like heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and even cancer. Luckily, ashwagandha contains antioxidants that can help prevent high levels of inflammation while enhancing the health of your brain and nervous system.

“Unfortunately, a chronic threat can result in a chronic stress response. If this type of response persists, it can lead to an onslaught of diseases that significantly lower your quality of life. This is why we recommend turning to ashwagandha to help with such conditions and maybe prevent them from happening in the first place,” says Goldstein.

Promotes Longer Lifespans

Due to its effectiveness in managing stress, anxiety, and bodily inflammation, ashwagandha could support healthier living and aging. Ashwagandha contains natural properties which keep the body calm and support its stamina and immune system. Additionally, it restores balance in the body while promoting healthy levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase — two powerful antioxidant enzymes which play an indispensable role in your body’s defense mechanisms.

While there’s limited research on the link between ashwagandha and extended lifespans, the herb has been shown to improve the efficacy of the body’s most vital systems and functions, which directly leads to longer, happier lives.

Enhances Your Skin’s Youthful Appearance

As we discussed earlier, the body’s nervous system releases cortisol as a response to extreme levels of stress. However, what many people don’t realize is that cortisol causes an increased production of oil in your sebaceous glands, which can result in clogged pores and acne. Incorporating ashwagandha benefits for skin, such as its potential to reduce inflammation and promote a healthy complexion, may offer a natural way to counteract the skin issues exacerbated by elevated cortisol levels.

Chronic stress also increases inflammation, which leads to wrinkles and a breakdown of the skin’s elastin and collagen. A study conducted in 2016 revealed that ashwagandha root extract contains free radical and antioxidant traits which can minimize the physical signs of aging skin, resulting in healthier, youthful-looking skin.

Help Ease the Tension With Ashwagandha

Today, one of the biggest pressures that continually plague our mental health is stress. Health and wellness companies like New U Life are continually on the lookout for new and improved ways to enhance people’s overall quality of life — both physically and mentally.

Stress is undoubtedly something everyone will experience, and while there’s no absolute cure for this kind of mental strain, ashwagandha contains properties that can help ease the tension. And let’s be honest — we could all use some stress relief.