Ashwagandha vs Phosphatidylserine for anxiety
Short answer: For anxiety, more users report improvement with Phosphatidylserine — 95% of 39 reports, versus 88% of 881 for Ashwagandha.
Ashwagandha has 48 meta-analyses and 59 randomized trials on PubMed; Phosphatidylserine has 14 and 83.
Based on 2,447 reports about Ashwagandha and 334 about Phosphatidylserine. Not medical advice.
| Ashwagandha Supplement | Phosphatidylserine Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 44%helped1,321 reports · high confidence | 73%helped110 reports · high confidence |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mostly positive |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 48 / 59 | 14 / 83 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 88% (881) | 95% (39) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 53% (446) | 85% (13) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 77% (233) | 86% (37) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 53% (125) | 75% (4) |
| Libido % reporting improvement | 62% (127) | 50% (2) |
| Common side effects | anhedonia, drowsiness, fatigue, depression | drowsiness, fatigue, anhedonia, headache |
| Typical dose reported | 800-1600 mg / after dinner | 300 mg |
The current systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of RCTs revealed a beneficial effect in both stress and anxiety following Ashwagandha supplementation. However, further high-quality studies are needed to firmly establish the clinical efficacy of the plant.
Phytother Res, 2022 ↗“I paired it with maca and ashwaganda and it legit felt like a steroid cycle.”
The effects of phosphatidylserine on overall symptoms of ADHD (ES 0.76; 95% CI: -0.07 to 1.60; p = 0.07) and hyperactivity-impulsivity (ES 0.24; 95% CI: -0.04 to 0.53; p = 0.09) were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggests that phosphatidylserine may be effective for reducing symptoms of inattention in children with ADHD, although the quality of the evidence is low and additional research in this area is warranted.
J Altern Complement Med, 2021 ↗“A supplement I have never seen on here that works great for me is Phosphatidylserine. Somehow awesome.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate