Anti-stress plants

Undermined by anxieties and tensions, about 70% of Italians are victims of stress which, in the long run, causes significant disorders. Here is the help that nature can provide us.

Irritability, bad habits, daily hitches, sudden changes, heavy responsibilities and work surplus are responsible for stress, which weakens more than two thirds of Italians.

Undermined by anxieties and tensions, moreover, the immune system weakens, the body becomes more vulnerable to infections and diseases.

It becomes necessary, then, to slow down the pace and help the body to recharge the batteries. A valid support also comes from phytotherapy: there are numerous plants with anti-stress effects, some with sedative effects, others with energizing properties.

A green anti-stress list

Let’s see what they are and their specific activities, always taking into account that phytotherapeutic products, especially the most active ones, should not be used without first consulting an expert doctor.

Hawthorn. It contains tannins and flavonoids that act at the level of the central nervous system. Its sedative action is useful in cases of nervousness, to reduce emotionality, state of tension and improve sleep.

Chamomile. Known for its slightly sedative effect, it is a classic remedy to alleviate anxiety and irritability, treat insomnia and other sleep disorders. Damiana. The leaves have antidepressant and tonic-stimulating action and are useful in case of physical or intellectual overwork, fatigue, stress conditions and depressive states.

Eleutherococcus. It provides the body with a better resistance to various types of stress, physical and mental.

Escolzia. It is useful in cases of mild or moderate insomnia, nervousness, anxiety and stress. She is more active in women than in men.

Ginkgo biloba. It contains terpenes, which exert a nourishing and protective action on the neurons of the cerebral cortex and increase the levels of circulating antidepressants and psychostimulants.

Guarana. It has a psychostimulating action, improves attention and memory skills, mental performance and reduces the sense of fatigue.

Ginseng. It acts as a tonic in states of psychophysical fatigue and increases the levels of some neurotransmitters in the brain, such as dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline, with antidepressant, euphoric and psychostimulating action.

St. John’s wort. It has soothing and calming properties of anxious states. The antidepressant action is due to the ability to increase the levels of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, neurotransmitters involved in the regulation of mood, and to modulate the secretion of melatonin.

Lavender. Thanks to its activity on the nervous system, it is used to counteract states of restlessness, insomnia and nervousness.

Hops. Its cones have sedative properties of the central nervous system.

Melissa. It is useful in stress disorders, fatigue, insomnia of nervous origin, palpitations, migraines.

Passionflower. It contains numerous flavonoids, such as hyperoside and vitexin, some of which bind to brain receptors for benzodiazepines (drugs known for their anxiolytic and sedative activity), with a calming action on the central nervous system and sleep centers.

Rhodiola. It increases serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain, with antidepressant and psychostimulant action. It also increases fatigue resistance.

Linden. The phytocomplex is able to bind to benzodiazepine receptors present in the brain, with a sedative and anxiolytic action. It is useful in anxious, hyperexcitable subjects with symptoms related to the somatization of anxiety in the stomach and intestines.

Valerian. It has an action similar to that of benzodiazepine drugs, but with less potency. Its active ingredients, valerenic acids, act on the central nervous system and are useful for treating sleep disorders and anxiety states.