A 2024 study identified Australia as the world’s most burnt-out nation. One in two Australians report being affected by burnout, including 85% of Gen Z.

Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that results from prolonged stress. Most burnout has to do with over-work or over-stimulation or anything that over-activates our nervous system.

We live in a frenetic world. Our work is busy, we commute at breakneck speed, entertainment is flashy and loud, most cities are never silent or dark. People get so used to lives lived on the edge of hyperstimulation that we have come to consider them normal.

But our ancestors did not live like this. Our bodies were not designed to handle such hyper-arousal. We need rest, and if we do not find time for small doses of it, our bodies crash, and force rest upon us. That is burnout.

Most of us can’t give up our jobs and flee to do yoga in the jungle. Most of us don’t want to. And most of us aren’t required to. The human body is a remarkably resilient organism, and can adapt to many things. But it does require balance.

Caffeine raises cortisol levels, putting our bodies in a state of hyper-alertness. Many people come to cacao looking for a lower-caffeine alternative to coffee.

A cup of Soma cacao contains 4 to 10 times less caffeine than a barista coffee. Cacao is also an adaptogen (helps the body regulate stress hormones), has magnesium (which helps calm the nervous system), and contains compounds (such as anandamide) or stimulates the production of compounds (such as endorphins and serotonin) that help the body relax.

But stress is not just about antioxidants and minerals; you can’t take a supplement to relieve stress. That’s why, at Soma, we emphasise the ritual of a cup of cacao. Cacao floods the body with endorphins, PEA, and serotonin. A cup of cacao is the perfect opportunity to drop everything, and rest in a happy body.

We live in such a strange world that many of us have been taught to consider rest a shameful indulgence. We hope that Soma, in our small way, can help change that. We hope to help restore a little balance to a racing world. We aim to put out burnout with millions of little cups of Soma cacao.

With maca (another adaptogen) and your favourite sweetener,

Rose, Alistair, and the team at Soma Cacao