LONGECITY

I've been taking Rhodiola Rosea (RR) on and off for about 6 years now. It has worked better than any other supplement for me in terms of how I feel emotionally, motivation, energy levels physically and mentally, and sex drive.

But, there are some things that worry me, and why I have not taken it for the majority of the last 2 years.

1st and most significantly, I was taking it for a long time, and upon cessation found that my anxiety had increased 10x even when I was at rest. I had a constant panic attack for most of a year+. I'm not 100% sure that it was RR, but I have suspicions and wish to see if anyone else has shared this with me.

2nd, when I take it now, I usually go for very low doses. Actually, I have always only used low doses... (~50 to 200mg) but now there is a change in how it works within me. Instead of just an energy boost, I usually also have terrible insomnia any day that I take RR. I feel functional the next day, but I have terrible sleep. It is very light to start, and never gets too deep. And usually lasts 4-6 hours which is unsustainable for me.


So, has anyone experienced anything similar to this? How did you work past it? (or did you)

I am begining to realize that I do not want to be dependent on supps, so I am going to start working on the issues when I am in a good cognative state, such as when I've just taken a supplement. Use that time to work on my mind.
Lucky on unlucky for me, I build tolerance to herbs and supps quickly, so I can't rely on them for long term.

Yeah, too much RR will definitely give me insomnia. It's surprisingly stimulating many hours later. I was taking it in my 3:30 fatigue-fighting supstack. I was taking 1/4 tsp, then raised it to 1/2 tsp where it clearly caused insomnia. I could get to sleep, but would wake up 3/4 through the night. So, I cut the dose to 1/8 tsp and now I take it at lunch instead.

Hmm, I've tried RR these past few days and have slept pretty badly. Not sure if RR is the reason though. I haven't noticed any other effects so I forgot about the whole thing, but I'll have to see if the effect persists.

I have had mixed experience with Rhodiola as well.

PLUS: It helps me function on little sleep. There are studies showing it extends life span in some animals. In spite of warnings that it may be harmful for bipolar disorder, it doesn't seem to affect me.

MINUS: Although I can function on low sleep with Rhodiola, I seem to have some cognitive difficulties on it. I'm in a job where I have to think on my feet often, and do some math. When I'm on Rhodiola, I'm more likely to screw up, fumble, and become confused.

I think this may be related to Rhodiola being a COMT inhibitor. My genotype is for higher COMT levels (lower dopamine levels), which SHOULD place me on the left side of the upside down U-shaped curve for attention and working memory, and Rhodiola should move me to the right.

But my working hypothesis is that for me to do math well, it helps NOT to be "in the moment", it helps NOT to have my attention so focussed and my mental energy devoted to manipulating my working memory. I think my math problem solving must come from more my unconscious and slower, more deliberative mental systems which Rhodiola circumvents.

It could also be that even though I can pay attention while sleep deprived with Rhodiola, the quality of that attention still suffers.

Thanks for your detail nootrope!

I mirror your response exactly. I get less sleep, and function well on it. The problem is mentally, I am not 100%. I always attributed this to the lack of sleep, since brain and sleep are inextricably linked. But maybe there are other mechanisms... I wonder if there is a way to test it.

My doses were usually 20-50mg. Maybe going higher would help, as I hear that it is more sedative at higher doses. I remember taking it at the higher doses and feeling very relaxed, and primarily I'd like it to be motivating rather than relaxing.

As for COMT, I am Val/Met (heterozygous) but I'm not sure what that means for me.

@JLL

Any update?