It’s known as the long sprint to the end of the year - a race in which many find themselves reluctantly competing. Holidays are in sight but there’s still a window of opportunity to achieve work, family and life goals before it’s time to deeply rest and relax.

On top of already busy schedules, additional demands, societal pressures, and personal expectations place the nervous system under stress and increase the risk of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. When caught in the grip of stress, anxiety and overwhelm, herbal medicine can help regulate an overstimulated nervous system, improve stress resilience and support mood.

Reach for Nourishing Nervines

Nervine tonics nourish and support the nervous system to restore healthy mood and emotional wellbeing during periods of stress. St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), Saffron (Crocus sativus), Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis) and Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) are nervines that support neurotransmitter balance, reduce stress and neuroinflammation, and promote restful sleep to target the drivers of poor mental health.

Practitioners may consider prescribing nervine tonics for:

• Stress and mild anxiety

• Nervous exhaustion and fatigue

• Mild to moderate depression, where additional nervous system support is required

• Sleeplessness and insomnia

Mood Support with St John’s Wort

The golden flowering tops St John’s Wort have been gathered and used medicinally since ancient times. While specific for depression, the herb is often overlooked as an excellent nervous system restorative for chronic nervous tension, exhaustion and stress. It is also used traditionally for nerve-related conditions including mild nerve pain, neuralgia and sciatica.¹

A Cochrane review of 29 randomised controlled trials concluded St John’s Wort was significantly more effective than placebo for the treatment of major depressive disorder and had similar efficacy to pharmaceutical antidepressants in reducing depression and associated symptoms.² St John’s Wort also significantly reduced anxiety scores in patients with depression in two randomised controlled trials.^3,4

Experimental research shows St John’s Wort has neuroprotective and nootropic effects,^5,6,7 inhibits the synaptic reuptake of neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine and GABA,⁸ and reduces inflammatory mediators that are thought to play a role in low mood.⁹

Saffron Stigmas to the Rescue

Saffron alleviates anxiety and supports healthy mood for a steadier mental state. Considered neuroprotective and neuroinflammatory,¹⁰ Saffron stigma extract (100 mg/day for 12 weeks) had significant positive effects on depression and anxiety scores compared to placebo (p<0.001) in patients diagnosed with mild to moderate mixed depression and anxiety.¹¹

In an Australian double-blind, randomised controlled trial, higher dose Affron® extract (28 mg/day, equivalent to 84 mg/day dry stigma) for 4 weeks resulted in a significant decrease in negative mood and symptoms of stress and anxiety compared to placebo in 128 healthy adults with self-reported low mood but no diagnosed depression.¹²

Supportive Schisandra

Lignans in Schisandra have been shown to cross the blood brain barrier in animal studies¹³ and exert significant neuroprotective effects.¹⁴ The herb assists with depression and anxiety by addressing dysbiosis (thereby influencing the microbiome-brain-gut axis),¹³ exerting anti-inflammatory effects, and modulating GABAergic, dopaminergic, noradrenergic and serotonergic systems.¹⁵

Schisandra fruit is used in traditional Chinese medicine for enhancing vital energy, nourishing the kidneys and calming Heart qi.¹⁴ The herb has adaptogenic, nervine tonic, and mild anti-depressant actions,¹⁶ and has been shown to be effective in patients with physical weakness, exhaustion and reduced physical and mental performance.¹⁷ Clinical indications include fatigue, neurasthenia, irritability, palpitations, insomnia, and night sweats.^18-20

Skullcap Eases Nervous Tension

Skullcap has a long history of use by native North American peoples to reduce nervous tension and treat mental or neurological illness.²¹ Contemporary clinical use includes nervous tension associated with chronic stress, illness or exhaustion, insomnia, anxiety, depression, neuralgia, epilepsy, and premenstrual tension.^16,21

A recent randomised controlled clinical trial reported significant improvements in sleep-wake cycles and quality of life in individuals with primary insomnia following Skullcap supplementation (400 mg/day for 8 weeks).²² In early research, a single dose enhanced mood,²³ while two weeks’ treatment had mild effects on anxiety and mood in healthy subjects.²⁴ In clinic, longer-term supplementation allows patients to benefit from the herb’s nervine tonic actions.

Baicalein, baicalin, chrysin, and wogonin appear to be the primary constituents with mood-enhancing effects according to in vitro and in vivo studies,²² however melatonin and serotonin have also been identified.²¹ Wogonin exhibits anxiolytic effects through benzodiazepine receptor interaction, and other flavones bind to serotonin receptor 5-HT7,^22,25 supporting the herb’s mood enhancing actions.

In Conclusion

Navigate a successful year-end with the help of nourishing nervines. Saffron, St John’s Wort, Skullcap, and Schisandra support nervous system function, promote restful sleep and support mental health and wellbeing during periods of stress.

References

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