Many of us struggle with undue stress and anxiety in our daily lives. Endlessly rushing and having places to go with responsibilities to juggle may feel overwhelming, particularly as we age and energy levels dwindle naturally. Chronic stress can exacerbate this problem, further draining our energy and weakening our immune systems. While lifestyle changes like regular exercise and mindful attempts at reducing stress are crucial, supplements can provide an additional avenue of extra support. In this article, we highlight the best vitamins and natural supplements for managing stress and anxiety.
How Stress Affects Your Body
Chronic stress can wreak havoc on multiple systems in our bodies, subsequently leading to a cascade of physiological changes. With elevated cortisol levels, the body never enters a true “resting state,” which can disrupt sleeping patterns and further prevent relaxation. With improper sleep, your immune system suffers and becomes unable to guard you against diseases, and it all goes from bad to worse.
Through this vicious cycle, the digestive system can also get affected. During stressful periods we tend to forego proper nutrition to avoid piling on additional responsibilities. As you deliver less nutritious foods to the system, absorption suffers, further decreasing the body’s capabilities to fight off stress – something for which it desperately needs nutrients that it’s no longer getting.
It’s clear how disruptive living in constant stress can be. If you find yourself in this situation far too often, the time to take action is right now. While eliminating your main stressors may not be entirely dependent upon you, you can still aid your body in other ways by supporting its function to help it cope with the flurry of hormonal and functional stress it’s been placed under.
Supplements That Reduce Stress and Promote Calm
One of the pillars of stress management is magnesium. The mineral shows promise as a natural calcium blocker—calcium ions being the main ones responsible for triggering muscle contraction—which helps regulate stress responses and puts your body at ease.
Other substances, like adaptogens, have demonstrated a remarkable ability to regulate cortisol levels. By including supplements like Ashwagandha in your diet, you can help your body adapt to stress rather than simply suppressing stress responses. This, of course, isn’t an ideal solution and avoidance rather than prevention or adaptation will always be the favored course of action. Still, as an intermediary measure, these substances have their place.
One important aspect to remember when reaching for supplementation is to only source the supplements from a trusted provider. Companies like Pure Encapsulations are focused on producing exclusively hypo-allergenic and research-based supplements to provide you with only nutrients and no unwanted additives. Choosing such manufacturers ensures you get the quality needed to make meaningful changes in your diet.
The Takeaway
While undue stress can often feel debilitating, it doesn’t have to be. Understanding its mechanisms and how to distance yourself from your stressors can positively influence your body’s functioning, as can introducing various supplements to help you manage stress better. While ultimately, your goal should be to cut out stress altogether (or at least as much as possible), reaching for supplementation as an additional measure can help make the transition period smoother.