Recommended Tools and Supplements for Stress Recovery

Every practice in the Stress Recovery Micro-Habits Workbook works with nothing but your breath and five minutes. These are the few tools that make the practices easier to keep, and the supplements the workbook discusses, with what to look for.

Tools for the practices

Nothing here is required; each item makes one practice easier to repeat.

• Visual breathing timer

  A light that grows and shrinks at six breaths a minute keeps the pace for resonance breathing without a phone in your hand.

  See options on Amazon
• Simple digital timer

  Five minutes, a gentle tone, no notifications: the daily dose without opening an app.

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• Small notebook for the worry download

  Pen and paper by the bed or desk for practice 6; a phone keeps you in the loop the practice is meant to close.

  See options on Amazon
• Reusable gel eye mask (cold)

  Kept in the fridge, it is the quickest way to the cold-face reflex in practice 4 when a sink is not handy.

  Not for people with a heart-rhythm disorder or a very slow pulse without their clinician agreeing; wrap it in a cloth and never apply ice straight to the skin.

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• Chest-strap heart-rate monitor (optional)

  For people who like data: morning heart-rate variability and resting heart rate, noted weekly, show the trend. Do not chase a daily number.

  See options on Amazon

Supplements discussed in the workbook

None replaces sleep, breathing or boundaries, and effects are modest. If you and your clinician decide to try one, choose a third-party tested product (USP or NSF). Check any supplement with your pharmacist, especially if you take other medicines, are pregnant, or have thyroid, liver or kidney disease.

• Magnesium glycinate

  Modest reductions in self-reported anxiety in people with low intake. The workbook range is 200 to 400 mg of elemental magnesium in the evening.

  Ask first with kidney disease; separate from some antibiotics and osteoporosis medicines by 2 hours.

  See options on Amazon
• L-theanine

  About 200 mg; calming without drowsiness in small trials, and it softens the jitter from caffeine.

  Few interactions known; check with your pharmacist if you take blood pressure medicine.

  See options on Amazon
• Ashwagandha root extract

  Small trials found lower perceived stress and morning cortisol over 8 weeks at 300 to 600 mg of a standardized root extract.

  Avoid in pregnancy, with thyroid disease or thyroid medicine, and with sedatives; stop if you notice any sign of liver trouble (rare reports of liver injury).

  See options on Amazon

Prices and availability change on Amazon. This page is educational and is not medical advice; talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting a supplement.