Phosphatidylserine for Stress Resilience
Phosphatidylserine blunts exercise- and stress-induced cortisol in several small trials, one of its more distinctive findings.
Overview
Verdict
How It Works
Dosing & Protocol
Typical dose
- Recommended dose
- 400-800 mg/day phosphatidylserine in divided doses with meals, taken during demanding training or stress periods
- Expected timeframe
- 10 days to 3 weeks
Protocol
- form
- Soy or sunflower-derived phosphatidylserine
- duration
- 10 days to 3 weeks; use across a demanding block rather than as a single dose
- co factor
- Take with meals containing fat, and avoid late-evening doses because insomnia is the commonest side effect at these amounts. Evidence is mixed. Randomised trials show phosphatidylserine at 600-800 mg/day attenuates the cortisol and ACTH response to exercise stress in trained men, and a trial at 400 mg/day found a blunted cortisol response to a mental arithmetic stressor alongside improved self-reported calmness. Other trials at lower doses show little, effects on subjective stress measures are inconsistent, and the literature is dominated by small studies from few groups. Stress resilience itself is not a validated endpoint, so improvement is inferred from cortisol attenuation plus mood questionnaires.
- titration
- Build to 400-800 mg/day in two or three divided doses with food; the exercise stress trials used 600-800 mg/day for 10-15 days and the mental stress trial used 400 mg/day
- starting dose
- 200 mg twice daily with meals
Evidence
What the studies say
No studies are yet linked to both Phosphatidylserine and Stress Resilience.
Safety
Caveats
Blunting the cortisol response is not automatically an improvement - cortisol mediates glucose availability, immune modulation and, after training, part of the adaptive signal, so suppressing it may not serve performance goals. Sleep, training load management, and psychological approaches such as CBT and mindfulness-based stress reduction have far better evidence for resilience than any supplement, and chronic unmanaged stress affecting sleep, mood or function warrants professional support. Rule out medical mimics: hyperthyroidism, anaemia and sleep apnoea all present as poor stress tolerance. Safety of phosphatidylserine: at 400-800 mg/day, insomnia and gastrointestinal upset are the main side effects - dose earlier in the day. Doses above 600 mg/day have not been studied long term, so treat that as a practical ceiling for sustained use. There is a theoretical additive bleeding risk with anticoagulants, antiplatelet drugs and fish oil, and theoretical interactions with cholinergic and anticholinergic drugs such as donepezil. Avoid soy-derived products if you have soy allergy; sunflower-derived versions are available. Avoid in pregnancy and breastfeeding, as no safety data exist.
Less likely to help if
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Individual results may vary. The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products and information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.