In today’s busy society, where high-performing women juggle ambitions as well as endless to-do lists, there’s a demand for something to support them with their own relentless pace. Enter Clinicians, a brand attuned to the needs of powerhouse women that also understands the delicate balance between achievement and wellbeing. 

Here, we speak to naturopath Jane Cronin to find out how busy, stressful lives can impact our health and vitality. 

What specific challenges do busy women face when it comes to managing stress and ensuring restful sleep? Women have an infinite capacity for getting through work, plus all the challenges of everyday life. Many of these driven A-type personalities will often volunteer for everything, and constant stress to complete it all can often lead to us staying in fight or flight mode. This can lead to us being wired and tired, making it harder to deal with everyday stressors and difficult to relax and unwind for sleep.

In your experience, how does stress impact women’s overall health, and what role does sleep play in managing stress levels? Everyone experiences stress. At the right level, stress can be motivating and drives us forward in life. However, longer-term stress can affect mood (and our patience), leave us feeling anxious and can affect sleep. Some women might notice blood-pressure changes or might end up feeling burnt out. Also, staying in fight or flight response can affect our blood-sugar balance.

 Women are known to carry the majority of the household “mental load”, which, added to their career workload, can be overwhelming. How exactly does health impact our daily performance and decision making? I can relate to this, I’m also my husband’s memory. Constant planning can be exhausting, but women seem to have a natural talent for this. Supporting our brain with nutrients like omega-3 oils, B vitamins and citicoline can support the mental energy required. Things run smoothly until our sleep is affected. At night we process our short-term memory, with our brain deciding what to file and what to delete. This leaves space for the next day’s processing. If sleep is disrupted and this process is affected, we might notice we are more forgetful and everyday tasks seem harder. 

Can you discuss the key ingredients or formulations that you believe support stress management and sleep? When looking at sleep solutions, it depends on the sleep issue. If you have trouble going to sleep, many relaxing herbs such as passion flower, zizyphus, skull cap and lemon balm can provide support. The amino acid 5-HTP can support the body in the production of sleep hormones. If you need support staying asleep, magnesium is key and enzyme-treated asparagus extract (ETAs) supports those who wake in the night due to stress. This is found in Clinicians Sleep Science. 

How do you approach individualised care when recommending stress and sleep support products, considering that every woman’s needs may vary? Clinicians has a naturopath support team and free 15-minute appointments where you can get personalised advice. We also have online quizzes that guide you with product selection.