CBD Oil for Mind
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CBD as a Counter to Anxiety
DISCLAIMER: We do not endorse CBD as a treatment or cure for any illness, disease or medical condition. These products should not be used to replace any course of medication or therapy prescribed to you by a doctor or other healthcare professional. The categories provided by Alphagreen exist simply to aid our customers in making an informed decision when choosing between products.
CBD works by altering the signalling between neurons, justifying its classification as a psychoactive substance. It achieves this by binding to the endocannabinoid system receptors found throughout the body - especially in the brain. The result of this is a change in the array of neurotransmitters being expressed, which can provide an effective defence against anxiety. By managing the brain chemistry in a different way, CBD helps shift the activity of neurons towards a coordinated effort of making you feel more comfortable rather than more on edge.
People who use CBD regularly report feelings of calm and relaxation, a reduction in stress and an improvement in their ability to get to sleep. As anxiety can often be a self-perpetuating cycle, adopting a new routine involving CBD is a good way to stop the worry from feeding on itself. According to recent research published in the Journal of Cannabis Research, over 40% of users rely on CBD to improve their mood and general mental wellbeing in the face of anxiety.
CBD products come with different compositions, namely full-spectrum, broad-spectrum and isolate. Full-spectrum and broad-spectrum contain additional plant hormones found in cannabis, whereas the isolates contain pure CBD. These extra accessory molecules have their benefits, though, and several of them (such as the terpenes, pinene and linalool) have anxiety-busting potential. Keep this in mind when deciding on the product for you, as the combined actions of these different substances - known as the entourage effect - can often enhance aspects of the CBD experience or help to tailor it specifically to you.
FAQs
How does CBD oil help anxiety?
CBD oil has an anti-anxiety effect thanks to its ability to interact with receptors in the body. The receptors in question are part of the endocannabinoid system, which responds to different hormones and sends signals informing other cells and tissues how to behave. When CBD molecules bind enough of these receptors, mostly in the central nervous system, the neurons there become regulated in a different way, preventing them from responding as much to the neurotransmitters associated with stress, such as cortisol, and making room for other hormones, such as serotonin, which will lead to an improved mood and a greater feeling of relaxation.
How to use CBD Oil for anxiety?
CBD oil is incredibly versatile. One of the most straightforward ways to use it is to apply a few drops of a sublingual (under the tongue) tincture. As the blood vessels here are close to the surface, the CBD will be readily absorbed, giving it a direct route to the brain. In addition to this, CBD oil can be mixed into your favourite recipes or used as an ingredient in homemade topical creams and balms if that’s something you’re interested in. Just keep in mind that using different application methods may change the effects you experience and will almost certainly alter the time taken for your body to process the CBD and the overall bioavailability of the molecule. See the next question and answer for more detail on how this works.
How long does CBD take to work for anxiety?
This depends completely on the consumption method. For example, as sublingual drops will be absorbed very quickly, you can expect results after around 15-30 minutes. If CBD oil is being used to mix into food, this will take time to pass through the digestive tract before being absorbed, meaning there will be a delay of around an hour or two. Edibles are also exposed to enzymes in the body for longer, which reduces the proportion that becomes available as more of the molecules are broken down. Homemade topical creams will remain localised to the area they are applied, and therefore won’t exhibit any of the psychoactive effects associated with reduced anxiety. They take around an hour to achieve their full effect.
How much CBD Oil should I take?
It’s hard to give a catch-all answer to this question. Each person will respond to CBD differently depending on countless interlinking factors such as body weight, age, mental health history, etc. However, it is generally advised that you should start with a low dose - around 10 to 15 milligrams per day - and stick with it for a week or so. It is important to do this as CBD can build up its effects over time as the body becomes accustomed to responding to it. If, after this, you still feel that you need more, you can begin to increase the dose in increments of 5 milligrams, allowing time for your body’s homeostasis to resettle with each increase. Keeping a diary of doses and effects can be very useful in determining where your sweet spot is. Use our handy infographic above to calculate how many drops of CBD oil you should take!
What strength CBD Oil should I take?
As the volume of CBD oil taken can be varied to offset the dosage, there’s no hard and fast rule for this one. If you are at the stage of taking higher doses, you might find it easier to go with a higher percentage formulation for ease of use. Also, the more CBD in the composition, the more the chemical will influence the flavour, so if you’re looking to incorporate it into food or take it sublingually, you might want to make sure that the product you decide on has an agreeable taste. Lower strength CBD Oils might be able to provide that more reliably. If you’re having trouble figuring out how many drops of CBD oil to administer for different strengths, take a look at the infographic above for some help.