A Calmer, Clearer Way to Support Your Stress and Anxiety Through Bioactives

As we shared in our previous article, adaptogens help your body return to balance — regulating the stress response so you can think more clearly, feel more centred, and rest more deeply.

With this article, we want to focus on how specific bioactives can be used with intention to support moments in your day when calm and clarity matter most. Each one works differently, offering unique ways to regulate your body and emotions. Here are three powerful fungi from our catalogue worth knowing.

Reishi: The Grounding Force

Long valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Reishi contains triterpenes and beta-glucans that help regulate the nervous system, reduce inflammation, and support immune balance.

Reishi’s triterpenes interact with GABA receptors in the brain — the same calming pathway that helps quiet overactive thoughts — while its beta-glucans support balanced immune activity, reducing stress-related immune suppression. Studies also suggest Reishi can help modulate the sleep–wake cycle, making it easier to enter and maintain deep, restorative stages of sleep.

What it does: Encourages deep relaxation without sedation, supports emotional steadiness, and promotes more restorative sleep cycles.

When to take it: As part of an evening ritual, when you need to transition from high output to calm focus.

For insights into how mushroom-derived compounds support brain health and mood, check out this article in Frontiers in Nutrition (2025).

Chaga: Antioxidant Support for Steady Focus

Traditionally consumed as a tonic in Siberian and other northern cultures, Chaga has a long history of use for strengthening resilience against harsh climates and illness. Modern analysis shows it contains one of the highest antioxidant profiles in the natural world, rich in polyphenols, melanin, and lanostane-type triterpenoids.

These compounds help neutralise oxidative stress — one of the main drivers of fatigue, cognitive decline, and premature ageing. Early research suggests its antioxidants can cross the blood–brain barrier, potentially contributing to mental clarity and neuroprotection. Learn more about neuroprotection here.

What it does: Helps maintain mental clarity, supports immune modulation, and reinforces long-term resilience.

When to take it: In the morning or mid-day for a grounded, sustained focus.

Lion’s Mane: Clarity Meets Regeneration

Known in East Asia for centuries as a tonic for the brain and gut, Lion’s Mane has gained modern attention for its unique compounds — hericenones (from the fruiting body) and erinacines (from the mycelium) — which have been shown to stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF). Within our formulas, we focus solely on the mycelium for its nerve growing factor. NGF is a protein essential for the growth, repair, and maintenance of neurons, making Lion’s Mane a rare natural nootropic with regenerative potential.

Its benefits extend beyond cognition. By supporting the gut–brain axis and reducing neuroinflammation, Lion’s Mane can help stabilize mood, improve focus, and create the neurological conditions for deeper, more restorative sleep. Emerging studies also suggest it may help protect against age-related cognitive decline and promote emotional balance under chronic stress.

What it does: Improves focus and memory, supports neural repair, and fosters a calm, balanced mind that’s ready for quality sleep.

When to take it: In the morning for sustained clarity, or in the early evening to prepare the nervous system for restful regeneration overnight.

How To Get the Most out of Them 

The key to adaptogens is timing and intention. Use them at moments that align with your body’s natural rhythms, and let them work within your lifestyle — not against it. Our formulas are designed to be flexible, adapting to your system and your schedule.

Like any adaptogenic approach, it’s a process of discovery. Give yourself time to notice how each one feels, and when it feels best. Pairing their use with small rituals can deepen their effects and make you more attuned to the changes they bring.

• Reishi: Add to herbal tea or take before bed to ease into your evening wind-down.

• Chaga: Blend into coffee or a morning smoothie for antioxidant and immune support that carries you through the day.

• Lion’s Mane: Take during the day to sharpen focus, or in the early evening to support neural recovery and set the stage for restorative sleep.
  
  

Start with one, observe how you respond, and when ready, explore combinations for a more layered approach.

Why we pair Reishi + Lion’s Mane in our Functional Formula Calm & Clarity: By combining Reishi’s grounding, anti-inflammatory properties with Lion’s Mane’s regenerative, neuroprotective benefits, this formula addresses both the mind’s need for calm and its capacity for clarity — making it a powerful ally for mental resilience and emotional balance.