Any of you start your day with a cup of coffee? Ha, it’s Sweden, so that was a rhetorical question! Of course you start your day with a cup of coffee, in fact, you most likely have 3-4 cups of coffee throughout the day (National Average is 3.8 cups), and I won’t even start to discuss energy drinks (leading per capita consumers of energy drinks in the world right here in Sweden). Obviously, Swedes are crazy about caffeine – and living in the darkness of Winter here it is no surprise (especially if you define Winter as a good 5-6 months). The facts are simple, we feel low on energy and we are in a constant search to improve our energy levels. Caffeine is not doing the trick, not to mention the jittery side-effects of so much caffeine consumption.
So, what if there was another way to increase energy and motivation? There is, but those CBD gummies you bought for pain or sleep, for example, are probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you’re feeling exhausted. But they should be!
Now you’re confused, all the media and all the news, all the celebrities and all the talk shows are touting CBD as this amazing solution to sleeping problems, anxiety issues, stress and pain; it’s supposed to be soothing, calming, restful and relaxing. How does this mesh with the energizing, focusing, wakeful needs I have?
Well believe it readers, believe it — Cannabidiol (CBD) products are trending due to their ability to help treat a range of issues, such as anxiety and pain. However, as researchers discover more of the benefits of CBD and how the endocannabinoid system works, it is understood that CBD may also offer a boost in energy and be useful as a safe, natural stimulant. CBD’s link to increased energy and better focus is a benefit that’s too good to ignore. Several studies have found that it may be the natural boost you’ve been looking for. Let’s explore further then how CBD can both be of such benefit in helping you sleep, but also in keeping you alert and focused. This wonderful dichotomy that is so reflective of our own bodies ability to do both.
How CBD can BOOST your ENERGY
CBD energy doesn’t come in an instant burst like what you get from an energy drink or cup of coffee, but the effects it has on your body create an all-natural, sustained boost of energy that lasts longer and is healthier for you.
Chagas et al. (2014) showed the hypothesis that CBD worked as a wakefulness agent. The findings demonstrated that administering CBD boosted dopamine levels in the brain’s hypothalamus. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that promotes wakefulness and is also involved in other processes like motivation and learning, moods, and heart rate.
According to Glaeser et al. (2000), people with naturally low energy levels can use CBD to help combat the issue for several reasons because of how it works on the human body. It interacts with the endocannabinoid system, a primitive system in our bodies that is responsible for homeostasis or a relatively stable equilibrium within our environment. It means that it may affect changes within the body chemistry in a bidirectional manner, showing the potential to increase the energy level and exhibit a calming effect once the energy is too high. In other words, it brings balance!! When your energy is low in one area or ‘out of whack’ in another it will move resources around to bring your homeostatic balance back into equilibrium — amazing stuff!!
The endocannabinoid system has receptors in all parts of the body. These two types of receptors, CB1 and CB2, are in different areas in the brain and the body. Both have different functions once CBD is consumed. It may stimulate the receptors as the body sees fit depending on the current emotional, mental and physical state. Baron et al. (2018) noted that the body knows where to use CBD the same way it can distinguish between using ibuprofen for inflammation and headache.
More evidence on CBD for focus is still underway. Despite that, CBD does not typically provide the feeling of being wide awake. It improves other issues that can be left untreated, sap individuals’ energy, and tire them. Zurba et al. (2019) noted that CBD could help individuals focus and feel better rested.
Moltke & Hindocha (2021) agreed that CBD is a good solution for stress and anxiety symptoms that get you feeling tired; like anxiety disorders that can cause you difficulty concentrating and produce feelings of fatigue, it can also help relieve social anxiety and PSTD symptoms. They can both make someone feel tired and lose focus. CBD is known for its ability to help treat sleep issues for many people. But how does this help once someone is already feeling tired and asleep? You may not get enough sleep. You feel fatigued and struggle with focus. Suppose CBD can help you get enough rest and control your sleep cycle. The problem is over.
The previous study mentioned that CBD could help treat pain, including inflammation and chronic pain that cause fatigue and challenge a person’s ability to focus. By helping to reduce pain, CBD may help you increase your energy level and focus.
How CBD can SOOTHE your SLEEP
When consumed, CBD influences the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a network of receptors and transmitters located throughout the body.
The ECS is responsible for maintaining a balance between our body’s cardiovascular, nervous, and immune system functions, and regulates many vital functions, such as sleep, mood, pain and appetite.
CBD interacts with this network of receptors by imitating the body’s own naturally-produced endocannabinoids (“endogenous cannabinoids”).
In this way, it supports the function of the ECS and helps the body to better adapt to changes in environment.
Unfortunately, the endocannabinoid system is susceptible to our environment, and several factors may weaken it. Stress, hunger, fatigue, pain, anxiety, depression — they all effect and are effected by our ECS. Studies have found that prolonged exposure to cortisol decreases our endocannabinoid levels, and chronic stress may suppress the function of CB1-type cannabinoid receptors. With a lack of cannabinoids and functioning receptors, our ECS can’t properly regulate all the processes it should. This is where we spend our energy, this is why we feel tired … this is also where CBD can naturally assist our ECS in balancing our environment, and in turn providing us with more of our energy pool and a feeling of greater focus and wakefulness.
Studies have found that CBD may regulate our sleep-wake cycle and help us sleep more soundly. One of the ways it does this is by directly influencing the amount of adenosine produced by the body. Adenosine is a compound that regulates feelings of tiredness: high adenosine levels will make us feel tired, while low levels will make us feel more awake. CBD won’t make your body produce more adenosine than it naturally would, it just helps your body to regulate it better. This is also why CBD won’t make you drowsy during the day, as it supports the body’s natural rhythm.
One of the key elements to consider though is that the most important thing when it comes to sleep is the quality of our sleep. If you’ve slept nine hours but the quality of sleep was poor, you most likely won’t feel great the next day – even though you slept the recommended nine hours. We go through multiple stages when we sleep, one of the most important being our Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage. Our brain processes all the information from the day and helps form new connections according to that information.
While sleeping medication will help you fall asleep and stay asleep, many of them will block REM sleep, leaving you feeling groggy and irritable during the day. CBD, however, may support natural REM sleep by increasing the level of endocannabinoids in our body, which are responsible for regulating our sleep cycle.
So you’ve now heard how CBD can affect your energy level, and how it can affect your quality of sleep. In essence it is because both those, along with your mood, pain, appetite and other key bodily functions are all connected and regulated by your ECS. Unlike pharmaceuticals, which are directed at one element – whereby the overload it or underwhelm it to achieve the desired result; CBD is all about supplying the ECS with the cannabinoids it needs to restore the balance as it sees fit. This provides for the oxymoronic miracle of utilising CBD to keep you alert and energised when needed, while at the same time allowing you to calm, soothe and sleep when it is necessary. CBD is not some new trending ‘miracle cure’, it’s been around as long as we have and has developed in harmony with our bodies, but once again we are finally seeing the most ‘perfect’ solution, provided for us by nature, right in front of our eyes.
CBD CAN TURN YOUR VOLUME UP OR DOWN
