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We’ve researched, tested, and lived with natural wellness remedies for years — these are our picks for calming, grounding, and restorative products to help you transition smoothly into the fall season.
As summer turns into fall, and indeed as any seasonal transition arises, our stress levels can soar. Fall, though beautiful, brings with it colder weather, shorter days, busier schedules, all of which can promote feelings of anxiety and overwhelm. During times like these, self-care becomes especially crucial — through mindful, grounding lifestyle habits, as well as nutrition and supplementation, working with rather than against the rhythms of nature.
Why consider natural stress relief remedies?
Stress affects us all, and managing it through natural, non-invasive remedies can make a huge difference to our overall wellbeing. Where possible, we strive to use clean supplements for a gentle, holistic approach to preventing and managing stress with fewer side effects. Managing stress is crucial because, in addition to not feeling pleasant in itself, it also impacts our nervous system, gut health, immunity, and muscles.
Why are clean, organic, and third-party tested supplements important?
By law, dietary supplements don’t need to be reviewed by the FDA before being sold to the public, which means that it’s hard to trust supplements that haven’t been evaluated by an organization external to the brand itself. For that reason, we always recommend looking for third-party-tested supplements that have been evaluated by bodies such as ConsumerLab, US Pharmacopeia, or NSF International. If a product has been signed off by these orgs, you can trust that it’s safe and effective. Meanwhile, we highly recommend choosing products that are clean (free of toxins, harmful ingredients, and superfluous fillers) and organic where possible, to best support your health without unwanted side effects for you or the planet.
Our criteria:
Our editors have explored and tested dozens of stress relief products, from herbal blends to mindfulness tools, over the years. For this list, we’ve chosen our favorite natural remedies that are effective, thoughtfully made, and designed to help bring calm and clarity as the seasons shift. We often revisit this guide to add new picks when they meet the criteria below:
- NATURAL & ORGANIC | We’ve chosen brands that use natural and organic ingredients, and are free of additives, synthetics, and fillers for the purest formulas around. All of the supplements on this list use third-party testing to verify their purity.
- SUSTAINABLE/ECO-FRIENDLY | We’ve prioritized brands that use responsibly sourced, plant-based ingredients and eco-conscious packaging. Many of our selections feature biodegradable, recyclable, or refillable containers.
- EASY TO TAKE | Stress relief should be easy to incorporate in your day-to-day, and enjoyable too. We’ve chosen remedies that offer a noticeable sense of calm while engaging the senses in a soothing way with their taste, scent, and experience.
Supplements are an integral part of stress management. To help us deal with daily stresses, we also turn to herbal teas, essential oils, and meditation tools, because we believe in creating a full toolkit for supporting our mind-body health.
1. Needed
Best For | Preconception and postpartum
Daily Dose | 4 capsules with or without food
Functional Ingredients | Sensoril® Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Holy Basil, Milky Oat Straw, Rhodiola, Schizandra
Price | $45/month
At The Good Trade, we’re huge fans of Needed, a supplement brand whose values align beautifully with our own. Founded by Julie Sawaya and Ryan Woodbury, two mothers and nutritionists, Needed offers an unparalleled range of supplements designed to support fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and women’s health more generally. Every product is backed by research and clinical feedback, third party-tested, non-GMO, and free from unnecessary additives. Needed is also a Certified B Corp, Certified Climate Neutral, and part of the 1% for the Planet program. While many of the brand’s products are part of our routines year-round, the Stress Support capsules are what we’ll be turning to as the temperatures drop and our wellness needs evolve with the season. Inspired by the wisdom of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and herbalism, they’re formulated with Sensoril® Ashwagandha and Shatavari to balance our hormones, Holy Basil to support a healthy response to stress, Milky Oat Straw, and Schizandra Berry for promoting vitality, and Rhodiola for helping to reduce fatigue. Essentially, they’re designed to keep overwhelm and stress at bay, as well as boosting your mood. While this supplement is ideal for preconception and postpartum, it’s also a great choice for women at any stage of their hormonal life.
Customer Review | “I notice such a difference in mood and stress levels by taking these daily. I just had my fourth child and my postpartum has been notably better. I believe these make the difference.” – Caitlin (Read more reviews.)
2. GEM
Best For | Food medicine
Daily Dose | 1-2 bites as needed
Functional Ingredients | Magnesium, Golden Chlorella, Lemon Balm, Banana, Coconut, Cinnamon, Cacao
Price | $39
GEM is different from your average supplement brand. Based on the philosophy that “food is medicine,” the woman-owned brand makes cute little bites that are chock-full of nutrients and taste delicious eaten as a little pick-me-up throughout the day. In other words, this is the brand for you if you dread having to swallow your bulky multivitamin every day — not to mention they’re formulated in collaboration with an actual pastry chef. Beyond offering a more pleasant experience, GEM works on the principle that nutrients are more readily absorbable in food sources than they are in supplements, and focuses on whole-food ingredients without unnecessary fillers. For stress relief, their Chill-Out Bite is the one, featuring ingredients that are both super tasty and full of health-supporting nutrients: banana, coconut, cinnamon, cacao. Together with magnesium, golden chlorella, and lemon balm, they create a supplement bite that helps to balance your hormones, improve your mood, promote relaxation, and protect cellular and gut health. The brand recommends munching on a Chill-Out Bite at a moment in the day when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, to help ground and focus you. And in case you needed more reasons to trust them, these little gems are made in the USA, plant-based, third-party-tested, soy-free, gluten-free, and keto-friendly.
Customer Review | “One of these bites before a bath and journal session had me feeling the most relaxed I’ve felt in years!” – Angel (Read more reviews.)
3. Moon Juice
Best For | Pure ashwagandha
Daily Dose | ¼ teaspoon
Functional Ingredients | Ashwagandha
Price | $38
We’ve been Moon Juice loyalists for many years at this point, and it’s not a coincidence. They’re incredibly diligent about where they source their ingredients, committed to regenerative practices and sustainability, and always incredibly transparent with consumers too — plus they avoid any and all fillers wherever possible. Moon Juice was founded by Amanda Chantal Bacon, who successfully put her autoimmune disease into remission after being advised that she could never do so. Under her leadership, the brand aims to support our agency in the process of optimizing our mind-body health. Their ashwagandha powder is the stress supplement for purists, consisting of just one high-quality ingredient packaged in an elegant glass jar, and absolutely nothing else. This organic, 15:1 concentrated ashwagandha is sourced from India, where it has been used for millennia for supporting a healthy mind, body, and spirit. The brand describes their ashwagandha as having a “bitter, molasses-like flavor,” and the powder can easily be added to smoothies, hot drinks, and baked goods. Taken daily or as needed, ashwagandha is known to help calm nerves, destress, and sleep more soundly. While ashwagandha is generally considered safe for consumption, it’s not suitable during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Customer Review | “By swapping this into my afternoon smoothie, I’ve been able to skip a second cup of coffee in my day! Really enjoy incorporating this into my routine.” – Kristy (Read more reviews.)
4. Thesis
Best For | Mood boosting
Daily Dose | 1-3 capsules
Functional Ingredients | Ashwagandha, Saffron, Sceletium Tortuosum, Fermented Salidrosides, Magnesium Bisglycinate,
Price | $79
Nootropics — brain-supporting substances — can be an extremely beneficial part of our daily lives, but products should be tested rigorously in order to guarantee results and safety. Thesis supplements are designed around all the best available scientific data, and tested through blind trials with customers. If the results aren’t good enough, the brand goes back to the drawing board to continually improve their offering. At the time of writing, they offer only four rigorously formulated supplements, all of which are third-party-tested, vegan, free of unnecessary fillers, and non-GMO: the intuitively named Clarity, Motivation, Stress Reset, and Neuroprotection. As you’ve probably figured out, if you’re feeling stressed with the change of seasons (or for any reason), Stress Reset is the product for you. Available with or without caffeine, these capsules contain ashwagandha for stress relief, saffron for mood support, sceletium tortuosum for reducing anxiety, fermented salidroside (AKA rhodiola rosea) for balancing neurotransmitters, magnesium bisglycinate for calm, plus vitamin D3, and honokiol extract. Taken daily, this supplement is designed to make you feel calmer, more balanced, and less reactive to the world around you, promoting better stress resilience and an overall feeling of wellbeing — even in the most stressful moments.
Customer Review | “I wear an oura ring and the daytime stress it measures has been plummeting since day 2. And I felt noticeably different, way less apathetic and calmer.” – Marianna (Read more reviews.)
5. Wild Wholistic
Best For | Grounding moments
Daily Dose | One dropperful 1-2 times daily
Functional Ingredients | Holy Basil, Lemon Balm, Milky Oats, Chamomile, Calendula, Saffron, Reishi
Price | $77
Wild Wholistic couldn’t be better named: It seeks inspiration from ancient wisdom to create formulations tailor-made for our modern world. That means each product is carefully blended using organic or wild-crafted ingredients, and both the ingredients and the final product undergo rigorous testing to ensure quality, results, and safety — with no harmful ingredients or unnecessary fillers. Wild Wholistic is the brainchild of two sisters, Pari and Tamina, whose personal and family health history led them to seek out natural remedies for holistic healing. The Inner Peace herbal supplement is designed for nervous system support, plus calm, focus, and emotional balance. Holy basil (or Tulsi) works to soothe the stress response; lemon balm helps to reduce anxiety; milky oats support nervous system recovery; chamomile promotes relaxation; calendula lifts the mood; saffron helps with symptoms of anxiety and depression; and reishi aids emotional regulation. As such, this product is incredible for stress, focus, emotional balance, burnout… We love that it’s suitable for kids, too, so your whole family can benefit from this thoughtful blend. It should be taken daily for the best effects, but you may want to take more on days when you’re feeling extra ungrounded.
Customer Review | “This blend really lives up to its name. It brings a sense of calm and clarity without making me feel tired or foggy. I’ve tried a lot of natural remedies, and this one stands out — gentle, effective, and something I actually look forward to taking each day.” – Aly (Read more reviews.)
6. Arrae
Best For | Soothing anxiety
Daily Dose | 2 capsules
Functional Ingredients | Magnesium, Inositol, L-Theanine, Organic Passionflower 10:1 Extract
Price | $37 / month
Co-founded by husband and wife duo Nish Samantray and Siff Haider (whom you may know from her chart-topping podcast Dream Bigger), Arrae has become a favorite among wellness circles thanks to its natural and highly effective supplement formulas. Each product is packed with ingredients whose benefits are clinically backed, made in Canada and the US, engineered for the perfect dose, and always third-party tested. Their range has grown over the years, with products addressing conditions from bloating to sleep problems. In times of stress, we turn to Arrae’s Calm capsules, which work to promote calm and reduce anxiety within just an hour of taking them. They’re formulated with magnesium, inositol, L-theanine, and organic passionflower, all of which help to regulate stress and anxiety, lift mood, and promote relaxation. There are only two more ingredients in these supplements: Rice flour as a filler, and the vegetable capsule. This product can also help ground you if you’re feeling jittery or irritable. Meanwhile, another reason to turn to these supplements is that they don’t cause side effects like headaches or drowsiness like some medications might. Of course, if you’re dealing with long-term conditions like anxiety or insomnia, you should consult your doctor for advice.
Customer Review | “This is such an amazing product. It works so well for me. I will always have this in my cabinet from now on. I don’t think I will be able to live without it.” – Kirby (Read more reviews.)
7. Ritual
Best For | Traceability
Daily Dose | 2 teaspoons
Functional Ingredients | Magnesium, Montmorency Tart Cherry
Price | $56
Ritual, now a cult wellness brand, began with its beloved Women’s Multivitamin, which they wanted to be “simple, clean and backed by science.” Since then, every product they’ve put out has followed those same standards, as well as being highly traceable. Ritual’s formulations are free from confusing or unnecessary ingredients, and developed with support from a deeply knowledgeable scientific advisory board. The founder, Katerina Schneider, created the brand when she was pregnant, trying to find a clean prenatal vitamin, and couldn’t. Ritual’s Mind + Muscle Relaxation does what it says on the tin, and should be taken at nighttime (about 30 to 60 minutes before bed) to promote a deep and restful sleep. It’s a powder to be taken in water, and tastes like delicious berries, making it an evening ritual you’ll look forward to. This product follows the brand’s Made Traceable standards, and is third-party tested, vegan, and free of GMOS, sugar, soy, gluten, and artificial colors. It’s made using tart cherry, which helps with mental fatigue, promotes good sleep, and supports muscle and nerve function, and a gentle form of magnesium that helps deal with stress and supports relaxation. It’s also safe to take during pregnancy and postpartum.
8. Neuro
Best For | Mints in a portable pack
Daily Dose | 2 pieces
Functional Ingredients | L-Theanine, Vitamin D3, GABA
Price | $22
Supplements no longer have to mean large tablets that are difficult to swallow; now we have powders, drink mixes, snack bites… and even gum and mints with fantastic health benefits. Neuro makes nootropic formulas in the form of gum and mints, each with a different brain-supporting function, which means their products are super easy to bring with you wherever you go and take whenever you need a boost. They’re committed to continual improvement, to sourcing the highest quality ingredients, and to giving back a portion of their profits to causes that matter to them. Neuro carries products that help with focus, memory, or energy, but let’s take a closer look at their Calm & Clarity Mints for the purposes of this article. They come in a crowd-pleasing honey and lemon flavor, and taste delicious with zero sugar, aspartame, gluten, or dairy. These mints are formulated with L-theanine to help balance out the jittery effects of caffeine and reduce stress, vitamin D3 for a boost of serotonin, and GABA for nervous system regulation. Just take one or two pieces when you’re feeling stressed out, or to wind down after a long day.
Customer Review | “Good product. I have been using them after stressful days at work and it definitely helps calm me down.” – Daniel (Read more reviews.)
9. Auri
Best For | Mushroom gummies
Daily Dose | 2 gummies
Functional Ingredients | Wild Reishi Mushroom, L-Theanine, Ashwagandha Root
Price | $55
Auri carries two innovative supplement formats that are actually a pleasure to take: Gummies and elixirs. The brand harnesses the incredible health benefits of various functional mushrooms to support overall wellbeing, including reishi, cordyceps, turkey tail, lion’s mane, chaga, and maitake. Auri promises high-quality products made with natural ingredients that can help us heal and feel our best, aiming for transparency and committing to eco-friendly practices throughout the production process. The Chill Gummies are designed for supporting stress reduction and cellular energy, promoting calm and vitality, and helping you achieve restorative sleep. They’re formulated with wild reishi, an adaptogenic mushroom that helps you find calm and balance while also promoting energy. Meanwhile, L-theanine and ashwagandha both help to reduce stress and feel calmer. These gummies taste like berries (not mushrooms, in case you were wondering!) and are third-party tested, allergen-free, and gluten-free. They can be taken at any time of day, making them super convenient as well as delicious. We also love that you get a complementary subscription to the Endel meditation app with your purchase — every little bit helps!
Customer Review | “Helps me relax and sleep so much better. I find myself having dreams again!” – Kathryn (Read more reviews.)
10. The Fullest
Best For | Saffron-powered stress relief
Daily Dose | 1 tablespoon (latte) or 1 capsule
Functional Ingredients | Raw Saffron
Price | $148
The Fullest has one mission: To support customers’ mental health through the power of saffron, which has been shown to help with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. The brand blends cutting-edge science with the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine to create simple and highly effective supplements that support those dealing with stress and emotional or psychological disturbances. All the brand’s products center around saffron, with a capsule called Kinder Thoughts, and a latte mix called Warm Feelings. Both boast the same benefits, helping with anxiety, depression, ADHD, brain fog, insomnia, stress, PMS, and hormonal imbalances, inflammation, and headaches — which one you choose simply comes down to your personal preference and lifestyle needs. These products are billed as a safer alternative to SSRI medication because they don’t come with common side effects such as dependency, weight gain, or numbness, but you should always consult with a medical professional if you’re dealing with a chronic and/or severe mental health condition. With that in mind, The Fullest’s offering is backed by physicians and third-party-tested, plus saffron is an ingredient most people already know about, so it’s not intimidating in that way. Needless to say, we love this brand to help us through the more stressful seasons of life.
Customer Review | “I look forward to my divine after dinner treat every night! This is key for happy relaxed vibes before bed. Love it so much!” – Cindy (Read more reviews.)
Featured image is from Needed.
Iris Goldsztajn (she/her) is a freelance writer and editor based in London, UK. Her work has been featured in British Vogue, Marie Claire, Refinery29, SELF, Bustle and many more. Iris can typically be found on her way to a fitness class or with her nose in a good book.
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