The magnitude of benefit in stress hormone (cortisol) reduction (18%) and mood state improvement (11%-42%) is meaningful from the perspective of optimal mental and physical performance. For example, the 18% higher Vigor or the 20% lower

Depression score observed in the Relora group, could reasonably be associated with subjects reporting “feeling good” (in the case on our moderately-stressed subjects) or “performing well” selleck chemicals llc (in the case of over-stressed or over-trained athletes, which should be the subject of future studies). Although our study was not conducted in competitive athletes, a number of our moderately stressed healthy subjects were recreational runners and cyclists

who commented about feeling more “balanced” in their workouts when their stress levels were balanced. This is a logical individual perception based on a number of studies in elite-level and recreational athletes that have found a direct relationship between overall stress (physical training and psychological stress) and athletic performance, including both mental and physical performance parameters [27–31]. Competitive athletes tend to be characterized selleck chemical by an elevated Vigor score and lower Fatigue score compared to non-athletes [27]. However, in many intervention studies of athletes, a dose–response exists between training stress and mood state [28, 29], so as overall physical “training stress” is elevated beyond a Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor certain tipping point, psychological mood state becomes depressed. In addition, low Vigor scores and overall reduced psychological mood state have been identified as predictors of future athletic injury [30]. The most dramatic changes in psychological mood state are logically the result of intensified periods of

training (e.g. increased training intensity and/or duration), which can be modulated positively or negatively by psychological Phosphatidylinositol diacylglycerol-lyase stress (e.g. exams), competitive anxiety, social support network, sleep patterns, and recovery methods [27–31]. Based on the magnitude of the positive changes in cortisol levels and mood state parameters, we would recommend further athlete-specific studies to gauge the possible mental/physical performance benefits of Relora in enhancing post-exercise recovery and preventing over-training syndrome in competitive athletes. Results from the current study indicate that daily supplementation with a combination of magnolia bark and phellodendron bark (Relora) reduces cortisol exposure and perceived stress, while improving a variety of mood state parameters.