My First Ashwagandha Report

I have good news.  Before I get too far, keep in mind that this report may contain errors as I believe some of what I do may be influenced by some sort of placebo effect.  I really don't care.  Results are what I focus on and this first report is based on my sleep tracking which is trending in a very positive direction.

My one year supply of Ashwagandha Extra Strength Herb arrived yesterday afternoon, just in time to swallow a pill and get started on yet one more experiment.  The outside of the pill bottle states this 20:1 extract is 180 servings.  I'm starting with one pill a day verses two to see what happens.  This keeps my cost per day at .06 rather than .12.  I can always increase my dosage later in a future experiment.  Drum roll, please.  Here is my first sleep report from last night...

Everything was in the blue zone except for the number of sleep cycles which dropped to two.  According to my smart watch, the sweet spot is 3 to 6 cycles per night in order to get the appropriate amount of deep and REM sleep. 

The biggest improvement is in the wakefulness category which hit the blue zone for the first time since I began tracking in late November.  My time awake last night was 44 minutes, down from an average of one hour and fifteen minutes.  My wakefulness as a percentage dropped below the red zone line set at 10% to 8%.  My wife argues that this is partly due to my two workout sessions yesterday.  We played pickle ball together for two hours and then I had an evening workout on the indoor tennis courts for another two hours.  I ate dinner early before the 6pm workout and did not drink any wine at the end of the day as my bedtime is set at approximately 8:45 pm.

My wife is correct that the four hours working out is a factor.  That's why I'm tracking everything I do.  Looking back at the previous Wednesday which happened to be a mirror of yesterday, my wakefulness score was in the red zone at 17% showing the Ashwagandha may be a positive factor.

For those of you who are scientists, I get it that my experiments do not hold much weight compared to traditional studies.  I am an N of one.  That doesn't matter much to me.  All I'm doing here is striving to maximize my life.  That's what my next book is about.  You may be surprised just how many times I fail in my daily pursuits yet keep trying.  I'm going to keep working on my sleep habits until I find the right mix.  As for now, ashwagandha gets a gold star.  Time will tell if this herb is worth .06/day.  I may splurge and double down on this.  Let's just say, placebo or no placebo, I'm happy to report that my nights of excessive wakefulness may now be behind me.  Have a great day.