When I was navigating surgical menopause, one of the hardest symptoms to manage wasn’t the hot flashes or the mood swings — it was the fatigue. That heavy, dragged-through-mud exhaustion that sleep didn’t fix and caffeine didn’t touch. My system was tapped. Stress was high. Recovery felt unpredictable. And my energy never quite caught up with the effort I was putting in.
During that season, a nutritionist suggested I look into nervous-system support, including adaptogens like ashwagandha. It wasn’t positioned as a magic fix or a replacement for real recovery, but as one piece of a broader approach to calming an overstimulated system. And honestly, within a week or two, I noticed my energy felt steadier. My sleep felt deeper. My stress didn’t hit quite as hard.
That experience sent me down the rabbit hole of learning how adaptogens — especially ashwagandha — interact with stress, hormones, and recovery in midlife athletes.
Why Ashwagandha Gets So Much Attention
Ashwagandha (sometimes called Indian ginseng) is an herb that’s been used for centuries in Ayurvedic practices. Today, it’s being studied for its potential effects on stress regulation, sleep quality, and physical recovery — three areas midlife runners struggle with the most.
You’ll see research exploring how ashwagandha may support:
• more stable stress response
• improved sleep quality and nervous-system downshifting
• better energy and mood stability
• reduced feelings of anxiety
• improved sense of wellbeing
Different studies look at different outcomes, but the consistent theme is this: ashwagandha appears to help the nervous system respond to stress in a less chaotic way. And when you’re in perimenopause, menopause, or surgical menopause — when the nervous system can feel like it’s running hot all the time — that support matters.
Why This Matters for Masters and Menopausal Athletes
Midlife athletes often chalk their symptoms up to “being tired” or “training hard,” when what’s really happening is a combination of:
• hormonal shifts affecting sleep and mood
• reduced stress tolerance
• higher training load on an already-fatigued nervous system
• increased sensitivity to life stress
• disrupted recovery cycles
When your system is overloaded, everything feels harder than it should. Easy runs don’t feel easy. Strength sessions drain you more than they build you. Motivation swings wildly. And your mood, energy, and recovery are less predictable than they once were.
This is where tools that support the nervous system — like adaptogens, grounding practices, breathwork, and better fueling — start to make a noticeable difference.
Ashwagandha isn’t a cure-all, and it’s not for everyone, but for some athletes it becomes one helpful piece of the larger recovery puzzle.
A Quick Note on Safety
Everyone’s physiology is different. Supplements interact with medications, medical conditions, and dosages matter.
This isn’t medical advice — just sharing what I learned and experienced. If you’re considering adding ashwagandha (or any supplement), talk with your doctor or a qualified practitioner who understands your full health picture.
Your Nervous System Is Part of Your Training
Athletes often think recovery is foam rolling, stretching, or not running for a day. But for midlife athletes, recovery is also:
• stabilizing your stress
• supporting sleep
• reducing nervous-system overload
• fueling consistently
• eating enough to match your training stress
• strength training to support your hormones
Ashwagandha was one tool that helped me during a season when my system was running hot. For you, the tools might be different — but the foundation is the same: your nervous system is not a side note. It’s part of your training.
If you’re dealing with heavy fatigue, unpredictable recovery, or stress that’s bleeding into your running, a few of my resources can help you get clarity and support:
LEA Protocol Guide
If your energy is tanking or your training feels harder than it should, this guide helps you identify low energy availability and rebuild fueling patterns that support your hormones and recovery.
Central Governor Guide
A deep dive into the brain-body connection — how stress, mood, fatigue, and nervous-system load impact performance at midlife.
Mindset Reset
Daily grounding tools that help steady anxiety, improve emotional recovery, and support consistency.
And if you want personalized coaching that takes midlife physiology, stress, and recovery into account, that’s exactly what we build inside 1:1 coaching.