 Ashwagandha is one of the most potent adaptions on the market. But do you know how to take it for the best results? In this video, we're going to talk about the best time to take Ashwagandha, how to maximize its efficacy, how long to take it, how to cycle it, what do the doctors of Ayurvedic medicine recommend and finally, I'm going to share my secrets after years of supplementing with Ashwagandha. Hi friends, welcome back to the channel. My name is Greg and I'm a certified brain health professional. If biohacking, nitropics and optimizing brain performance interest you, then subscribe below and join our amazing community. Now, just before we talk about when and how to take Ashwagandha, for those who are unfamiliar with this nitropic, Ashwagandha is a potent Ayurvedic herb that can reduce anxiety and stress. It has antidepressive effects, it promotes better sleep and it may help with longevity in a few different ways. Now, if you want to learn more about other benefits of Ashwagandha, watch my video up here. By the way, have you ever tried Ashwagandha? Did you like it? Let me know in the comment section below. So, when should you take Ashwagandha for the best results? Now, this very much depends on why you're going to take it. If you're trying to reduce stress and anxiety, then the best time to take it is in the morning or during the day. Whenever you need this additional boost of calmness. Now, if you're going to take it for its effects on sleep, it's best to take it in the afternoon or at least a few hours before sleep. Now, when my team and I reviewed these studies, we couldn't find the generally best time for taking Ashwagandha. That's why it is so important to start with your why first. Now, personally, I'm taking Ashwagandha during different time periods. In the morning, before after lunch, in the afternoon and in the evening as well. And for me, the best time to take it is in the second half of the day. Now, Ashwagandha does relax me quite a bit. So, if I take it in the morning, I may lose some of the motivation. That's why I prefer to take it in the afternoon or evening. Now, it has been suggested to split the daily Ashwagandha dose into two doses. So, you can take one in the morning and one in the evening. The reason being that the biological half-life of Ashwagandha is believed to be from one to four hours. Studies in animals, for example, show the half-life around one hour. Which means that the effects of Ashwagandha generally last for up to 8 to 10 hours max. But this also depends much on your personal biochemistry. However, I've spoken to a few Indian doctors of medicine and they all suggested to take Ashwagandha just once daily. So, I believe for most people, that's the best way to go about it. Now, the second question I want to answer in this video is how long can you actually take Ashwagandha to get the most out of it and to avoid tolerance? So, doctors of Ayurvedic medicine recommend taking Ashwagandha for about two to three months in a row, then staying at least a month off and then you can repeat the cycle if needed. The reasoning for such a cycle is very obvious. Among other benefits, Ashwagandha reduces cortisol levels, it reduces stress and anxiety, but it is not a substitute to a healthy lifestyle. If you're going through a difficult period in your life and we all go through such periods now and then, then why not use the natural herb extracts that can help us cope with the situation? However, living in a high stress environment for a long period is not sustainable, so you need to find a more permanent solution and not rely on supplements. That's what Ayurvedic doctors understand really well and that's why they recommend the longer cycle. However, you may hear others recommend to follow a typical entropic cycle, which is five days on and two days off, which is how you could potentially take Ashwagandha for years without any side effects. Now, why I don't recommend this is, first, it goes against the Ayurvedic wisdom and if anyone knows anything about Ashwagandha and other adaptions are the Indian doctors. Second, you're going to rely on Ashwagandha for too long instead of making a lifestyle change that has caused stress and anxiety in the first place. Third, we lack long-term studies of taking Ashwagandha, so we don't really know what happens after years of taking it. Oh, and you're going to spend way too much money anyway. By the way, are you searching for the best entropics for your individual needs? If yes, go through our free brain assessment linked below and get a personalized recommendation for the best entropics. Now, people often ask me if you can develop tolerance to Ashwagandha. This means that your body adapts to Ashwagandha, hence Ashwagandha becomes less effective. Well, unlike with most pharmaceuticals, we couldn't find any data if people can actually develop tolerance to Ashwagandha, but it is possible for that to happen. Now, the funny thing is when it comes to adaptogens like Ashwagandha, they help your body adapt to stress and anxiety, especially if you take the right dosage. So, until more studies are done, it is hard to talk about tolerance. Generally, I just believe that it's hard to develop tolerance to adaptogens, but since they impact your neurotransmitter levels, you still need to be careful. Now, before we talk about the optimal dosage, I'd like to stress out that I like to stay on the safe side when it comes to entropics, and that's why I like to cycle Ashwagandha. So, I take it for about one to three months, then I stay off for a few months to even a few years, and then I take it again when or if needed. Now, more than Ashwagandha tolerance, you should worry about its side effects, and to learn more about them, watch my video up here. By the way, guys, if you like this video, please press the like button below. Now, the optimal daily dosage of Ashwagandha is 250 to 600 milligrams a day of a root extract. Now, studies show that slightly higher dosage within the mentioned range seems to be more effective. That's why I generally take about 500 milligrams of Ashwagandha. Also, many high-quality supplement brands actually produce capsules with 500 milligrams of Ashwagandha, like this one. Now, if for whatever reason this is too much for you, then just decrease the dosage in half. Keep in mind that Ashwagandha is both water and fat soluble, but if you use a high-quality extract, the extract already contains sort of activated ingredients because of the extraction process, so you generally don't have to worry about that. But if you use a normal root extract, then you need to take it with a healthy, fat source. I generally just take to KSM-66 that I take with some food anyway, and that's been working for me really well. So, before I share my final verdict with you, let's talk about my experience with Ashwagandha. Now, I first tried Ashwagandha years ago, and I instantly fell in love with it. It is a very potent adaption herb that actually delivers some amazing benefits. It's also very safe for most people, especially for short-term supplementation. And if you follow the recommended cycle, you most likely won't experience any adverse side effects. At least I didn't experience any. Now, here is one capsule that contains 500 milligrams of Ashwagandha extract. In particular, this one contains KSM-666, which is the branded Ashwagandha extract and one of the most quality and premium extracts on the market. Now, there's nothing special with this capsule or this brand in particular, but I wanted to tell you is that when I take the capsules, generally I feel nothing special for the first couple of days. And after a couple of days, I started to get the benefits. I become more calm. I become more in touch with myself. My stress decreases and so on. But some people may experience some side effects. They may feel nauseous or they may have like a stomach pain or something like that. And if this happens to you, the first thing you can try is decrease the dosage. The second thing you can try is to take the capsules with food. This is what I usually do anyway. So try to do that. And if you still get any kind of side effects then, of course, stop taking Ashwagandha. You shouldn't worry about it too much because there are so many other great adaptions on the market. But for most of you, Ashwagandha should work really well like it does for me. And you shouldn't worry about side effects. And you will probably really like the effects you're going to get from Ashwagandha. Now, I'm a big fan of KSM66 and Sensoryl, which are two high quality branded extracts. But if you can find a quality organic root extract of Ashwagandha, well go for it. Now Ashwagandha helps me calm down. It reduces stress. It indirectly improves my sleep. And that's why I usually do one cycle per year. Generally, when I stop taking it, I don't need to take it for at least a few months. So it does leave some longer term effects even after you stop taking it. Now I don't remember experiencing any problems with Ashwagandha, but if you do, stop taking it immediately. By the way, Ashwagandha is not recommended for pregnant women, for people with hyperthyroidism, for people with autoimmune conditions, and people who take a few specific types of drugs like anticonvulsants, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates. So if you take any of the mentioned drugs, do consult your doctor first. Overall, Ashwagandha is a great and safe and tropic that does what it promises to do. But it is not a substitute to a healthy lifestyle. However, when you're going through a hard period in your life, Ashwagandha can definitely help you out. Now, if you want to try it, you can find links to my favorite Ashwagandha supplements below. But if you want to get even more out of it, I do recommend taking it with other adaptogens. One of my favorites is Rodeola Roséa, which was a total game changer for me. Watch my experience with Rodeola up here. Thank you guys for watching and I hope to see you soon again. Stay well.