Anxiety afflicts millions of Americans on a daily basis. Supplements for anxiety can help alleviate some of the worst symptoms of anxiety.
But the benefits of anxiety supplements do not stop there. Their ingredients have also been shown to provide additional benefits related to sleep, digestive health, libido and more.
Below, our team of nutritional experts have brought together their picks for the 20 most important benefits of anxiety supplements.
20 Benefits Of Anxiety Supplements
Supplements for anxiety have proven effective at relieving some of the most odious symptoms of anxiety while also providing an array of other benefits. Let’s look at the benefits of anxiety supplements now.
1: Supplements for anxiety may help you sleep better.
There have been numerous health studies in recent years that have put the above-listed supplements to the test. Most have been found to be genuinely useful in helping people get to sleep. L-tryptophan, for instance, has been subjected to dozens of clinical studies (1), with researchers concluding there is a wealth of evidence to support its effectiveness.
2: Supplements for anxiety enable you to stay centered during troubled times.
With all that has been going on in the world recently, if you are not feeling a bit anxious there might be something wrong with you (2). These are extraordinary times, and people need all the help they can get to stay centered and focus on providing for themselves and their loved ones. Supplements for anxiety can help you do that.
3: Supplements for anxiety often work indirectly.
Supplements for anxiety are not like prescription drugs that dull your senses, or reduce your anxiety by simply knocking you out. Most supplements for anxiety take a holistic view of treating anxiety. That is, they help you sleep better because proper sleep is crucial to establishing an emotional even keel. Or, like omega-3 fatty acids, they address the overall health of your nervous system (3).
4: Supplements for anxiety do not all make you drowsy.
Anxiety supplements have a reputation for drowsiness. But not all of them work that way. Some provide amino acids like L-theanine that increase dopamine and serotonin production (4). This has the effect of stabilizing nervous system output without inducing drowsiness, which makes it an ideal anxiety supplement for those who want to maintain an active lifestyle.
5: Supplements for anxiety are safe.
When taken as directed, the vast majority of people will suffer no ill effects from taking anxiety supplements. In cases where an individual exceeds the recommended dosage of something like magnesium, they may experience nausea or diarrhea. And excessive amounts of ashwagandha may have the effect of lowering blood sugar levels (5).
6: Supplements for anxiety can often bolster digestive health.
Some anxiety supplements approach the issue from the angle of digestion. They use probiotics (6) to re-establish a healthy gut biota. This, in turn, enables the body to glean greater nutrient value from food, which increases overall health and reduces anxious feelings and overall stress levels (7). In essence, they create an upward spiral of health that results in a calmer you.
7: Supplements for anxiety contain natural ingredients.
Unlike prescription anxiety medications, anxiety supplements contain natural ingredients that have been in everyday use for centuries. There are no mysteries, and no laboratory-engineered compounds that require a degree in chemistry to understand. Just natural ingredients, responsibly sourced, and provided at an affordable price.
8: Supplements for anxiety are non-addictive.
Most prescription anxiety medications such as Xanax are potentially additive (8). Addiction is an anxiety factory and is the last thing you want to be dealing with if your goal was to reduce your overall anxiety levels. By contrast, supplements for anxiety are completely non-addictive in nature and can be taken safely for as long or short a period as needed.
9: Supplements for anxiety do not require a prescription.
It seems if you want any type of medication that actually works today, you need a prescription for it. Fortunately, that is not the case with anxiety supplements. While not technically ‘medication,’ they nonetheless serve an essential medicinal purpose in helping to alleviate the worst symptoms of anxiety. The fact that you do not need a prescription for them is just icing on the cake.
10: Supplements for anxiety have other benefits as well.
These types of supplements do more than just alleviate anxiety. Unlike prescription medications that are targeted to address specific symptoms, anxiety supplements address a range of other health issues too. For instance, amino acids can also increase insulin sensitivity. Omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of heart disease (9). And magnesium can provide relief from constipation.
11: Supplements for anxiety are free of genetically modified organisms.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are at the center of the contemporary debate about food safety. Big agribusiness depends on genetic modifications to make crops more resilient and to increase yields. But there is precious little clinical data to support the notion that the practice is harmless (10). Fortunately, anxiety supplements contain no GMOs.
12: Supplements for anxiety may enhance your sex life.
Strange perhaps, but true. Researchers have been aware for some time that both dopamine and serotonin play a role in sexual motivation and performance (11). A number of supplements for anxiety promote the release of both hormones as a way to modulate anxious feelings and restore calm. So, if anxiety is interring with your sex life, you might want to try something like L-tryptophan.
13: Supplements for anxiety can help with your workout.
L-theanine is well-known for calming the mind. But it can also help you have a more effective workout. How? When L-theanine is combined with caffeine prior to a workout, it has the effect of clearing your mind. At the same time, it suppresses the jitters many people experience when they drink caffeine. The result is a more focused, more effective workout.
14: Supplements for anxiety can help prevent muscle loss in older individuals.
As we age, our bodies lose muscle mass. No one is quite sure why. It may be a combination of eating less protein and getting less exercise as we age. But whatever the exact cause, there is evidence that amino acid supplementation can arrest the muscle loss trend (12). And it just so happens some anxiety supplements contain amino acids.
15: Supplements for anxiety may also help those experiencing memory problems.
One of the most vexing and, let’s be frank, scary aspects of aging is the possibility of cognitive decline. This mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, affects between 10 and 20% of those over 65. In clinical studies, ashwagandha (already known for its ability to relieve anxiety) has demonstrated an ability to improve both memory and overall mental performance (13).
16: Supplements for anxiety may improve eye health.
Some supplements for anxiety contain melatonin, which acts to calm the central nervous system. But that is not the only benefit of melatonin. Recent studies have indicated that melatonin supplements may also be helpful in treating glaucoma and macular degeneration (14). Even if you do not suffer from those conditions, melatonin can still be beneficial to overall eye health.
17: Supplements for anxiety may help lower your blood pressure.
Some anxiety supplements contain gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. GABA calms the mind and body by eliminating some of the noise in your neural network. But it has also shown promise in treating high blood pressure (15). Just be mindful that, because GABA can lower blood pressure, you should discuss it with your doctor first if you are taking blood pressure medications.
18: Supplements for anxiety can help prevent migraines.
One of the most effective anti-anxiety supplements is magnesium. What a lot of people are not aware of is that magnesium is also considered an affordable, effective way to prevent migraines (16). Being able to fend off migraines will have the added benefit of also removing a major source of anxiety.
19: Supplements for anxiety can reduce the risk of heart disease.
Some anxiety supplements contain B-complex vitamins that are known to relieve stress and improve mood. The benefits of B vitamins go well beyond that, however. Japanese researchers have concluded that B-complex vitamins may reduce the risk of strokes and heart disease (17). More study needs to be done to confirm these findings, but the preliminary evidence is encouraging.
20: Supplements for anxiety may help improve bone density in older adults.
Bone loss is a major concern for people as they age. That concern is particularly acute for women, who tend to suffer from osteoporosis at a disproportionate rate compared to men. The good news is you may be able to help improve bone density by taking an anxiety supplement that contains fish oil that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids (18).
Conclusion
Supplements for anxiety are not a substitute for medications prescribed by a doctor. But for people with mild to moderate anxiety they may provide some relief from their symptoms. Before you add supplements for anxiety to your regular routine talk to your doctor.