How does CBD help with Anxiety, Stress, and Sleep?

Anyone who’s dealt with anxiety, stress, or insomnia knows just how difficult it can be to treat these common conditions, especially if you want to avoid going the pharmaceutical route. In the past few years, Cannabidiol (CBD) has been widely hailed as a solution. 
But can CBD really help you overcome anxiety and stress or help you sleep, and if so, how does it work? Recent studies indicate that the answer is indeed “yes,” and they give some insight into how CBD works with our bodies.
Stress Modulation

CBD may be used preventively as it protects the body's cells from the effects of stress. By regulating the HPA axis, the molecule helps maintain homeostasis, the proper functioning of our biochemistry, even in persistent or unpredicted stress situations. The research published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology shows that CBD offers protection to the adrenal glands, thyroid, and brain during periods of unpredicted stress.

Research from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil has shown that CBD may help regulate how much cortisol and neurotransmitters we produce, which may give us “extra breathing room” during a stressful situation. It may also help with neurogenesis in brain regions damaged from prolonged/unpredicted stress. The body feels balanced and heals when we calm our body and mind. 

Anxiety and Sleep

Everyone has a friend or two who steers clear of cannabis because Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) increases their anxiety (hey, maybe you’re that friend). Turns out, they may be an especially good candidate to try CBD. According to a Washington State University study on the effects of marijuana on mental health, THC appears to decrease anxiety at lower doses but increases anxiety at higher doses, while CBD appears to decrease anxiety at all doses that have been tested.

If you’re concerned about the effects of THC on your anxiety levels, look for products formulated from hemp. Hemp is a type of cannabis that contains less than 0.3% THC. We recommend Key Remedies because their tinctures come from whole plant hemp extracts featuring the full spectrum of Phytocannabinoids with under 0.3% of THC

A recent case study published in The Permanente Journal indicates that CBD can help with both anxiety and sleep. The majority of participants in the study saw anxiety scores and sleep scores improve. A clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology concluded that “subjects receiving 160mg cannabidiol reported having slept significantly more than those receiving placebo.”

Lastly, a Project CBD survey found that CBD reduced the average time it took participants to fall asleep from 62 to 20 minutes. A majority of participants reported improvements in how they felt upon waking.

These results come from the way CBD interacts with the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). According to current research, the ECS regulates physiological effects such as pain, inflammation, relaxation, and sleep.

 

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