Livestack evidence summary — education, not medical advice. https://livestack.us
Stress
Also in the library: Ingredients · Goals · Evidence · Learn
What the stress trials actually measure
The stress response is the HPA axis doing its job: a cortisol rhythm that mobilizes you in the morning and stands down at night. Sustained load keeps the axis switched on — and that is what stress-focused supplements are actually tested against: perceived-stress scales and cortisol measured over weeks, not moments of instant calm.
Two root extracts carry most of the evidence here, ashwagandha and rhodiola, with theanine as a gentler, better-tolerated third option. All of it tops out at grade B: real trials, real caveats about how few research groups ran them. Interaction lists matter more in this category than any other — check them before choosing, especially if you take an SSRI.
Ashwagandha trials used 240–600 mg of standardized root extract for 6–12 weeks and reported lower perceived-stress scores and modestly lower cortisol. A 2022 pooling of 12 trials agreed on direction, with substantial heterogeneity, and most of those trials came from a small set of research groups — that is why the grade stays B pending independent replication.
Rhodiola was studied under load: physicians on night duty, a 28-day burnout-scale trial, students in an exam period — not everyday calm. L-theanine at 200 mg per day for four weeks lowered stress-scale scores in one 30-person trial. Magnesium’s stress review found only suggestive changes and poor trial quality; its realistic contribution is through sleep.
What this page is
This hub is a ranked reading of the stress pairings we store. It is not a wellness protocol, not a store, and not a coach. The trials measure scales and cortisol over weeks, and we will not write them as if they were a same-day calm.
If you take prescription medication, use the interactions page and the stack builder before adding a root extract. Ashwagandha is excluded with SSRIs and in pregnancy; rhodiola is flagged with SSRIs and stimulants. Education, not medical advice — talk to your doctor or pharmacist before changing anything.
How grades work on this hub
Nothing on this hub is grade A. Ashwagandha, rhodiola, and L-theanine are B: a real human trial base, narrower or less independently replicated than A. Magnesium glycinate is C for stress — it appears because the pairing exists in the map, and we say the evidence is weak.
A letter grades the pairing, not a person. Interaction notes decide more here than the chip does. A B is not a reason to start something your medications rule out. The scale lives on the grade explainer; the records are in the evidence index.
Ranked by evidence
- Ashwagandha 300–600 mg standardized root extract daily for 6–12 weeks; check the interaction list first
Meta-analysis of 12 RCTs of ashwagandha on stress and anxiety-scale scores, 2022 · Lopresti AL, 2019
- Rhodiola rosea 200–600 mg extract in the morning; take before food, avoid late-day doses
- L-theanine 200 mg once or twice daily
- Magnesium glycinate 200–400 mg in the evening; stress evidence is weak, sleep support is the realistic path
Grades are per goal–ingredient pairing, hand-assigned from the evidence records linked below each name. Browse all records. Ingredients without a monograph link have a page on the way.
What does not work (yet)
We list only mapped pairings at grade C or better. Whole-root powders, unstandardized rhodiola, and products with no trial form do not inherit the extract evidence. Peptides and other non-supplements never appear here. Grade D never enters a recommendation.
- Whole-root ashwagandha powder. Traditional doses are much higher and less consistent than the standardized extracts the trials used — hard to map to any evidence. See the monograph
- Magnesium as a primary stress tool. A systematic review found only suggestive changes and rated trial quality poor. Its realistic contribution is through sleep. See the monograph
- Ashwagandha as same-day calm. The trials ran 6–12 weeks on perceived-stress scales and cortisol. A few days of use is not a test of the pairing. See the monograph
- Unstandardized rhodiola powder. Trials used extracts standardized to about 3% rosavins and 1% salidroside. Unstandardized root does not map to that evidence. See the monograph
- Rhodiola as an evening wind-down. It is mildly activating. Late-day doses can delay sleep; the trial pattern is morning use during demanding stretches. See the monograph
- Peptides and NMN. Neither has a stress pairing in our catalog. They stay editorial: no doses, no offers. Read the editorial
Build a stack for this goal
The list above is the general case. Your medications, current stack, budget, and other goals change it — sometimes a lot. The builder applies those constraints and shows what it left out.