You may feel that CBD oil is popping up everywhere – and you may be right about that. After all, it’s getting a lot of attention right now as a host of potential benefits are being talked about.
So, is it just this year’s trend, or can it offer real benefits? Let’s discuss the possible ways it can be used to help you with your health and fitness goals.
What is CBD?
CBD stands for cannabinol and is the non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in CBD. CBD contains two main cannabinoids – THC and CBD.(1) THC is the psychoactive cannabinoid and is responsible for the negative psychological elements that CBD use can cause. Because CBD is non-psychoactive, some say it can provide medicinal benefits without the negative side effects.
What does CBD do?
The potential medicinal benefits of CBD are related to your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS consists of endocannabinoids, cannabinoid receptors, and enzymes responsible for the synthesis of cannabinoids. The ECS is responsible for a number of biological processes that lead scientists to develop their understanding of cannabinoids such as CBD.
In your body, there are two main receptor types for CBD. CB1, which is found in the central nervous system and CB2 which is found in peripheral systems such as the intestinal and bone systems. Because of the large number of receptor sites in the body, CBD has been studied for a number of potential benefits.
Benefits of CBD oil.
1. May improve sleep patterns.
The importance of sleep for recovery from exercise is now well known. An adequate amount of sleep can help build muscle mass, increase strength and aid weight loss. Therefore, one of the ways CBD oil can help you achieve your fitness goals is through improving sleep patterns.
There is evidence that the endocannabinoid system is involved in modulating the sleep/wake cycle.(2) This has led to CBD and other cannabinoids being studied for their potential benefit of improving sleep.
Studies have shown that the use of CBD can improve sleep quality, reduce sleep disturbances, and help increase the amount of deep sleep (REM).
Despite these encouraging signs, there are caveats to the findings. Most studies examining the use of CBD and sleep have not used sleep as the primary measure of study. Studies have primarily looked at the effect of other conditions, such as chronic pain and PTSD.(3) This means there is a lack of placebo-controlled experiments that look directly at the effect of CBD and sleep quality.(1)
Dosage and population group may also be an important factor in the possible effects on sleep and therefore it is difficult to say how effective CBD is on an individual basis. Find the top hemp oils in this link.
Summary
CBD oil can help improve your sleep, leading to health and fitness benefits. However, research into the direct effects that CBD oil has on sleep is still in its infancy and therefore it is difficult to draw a conclusion on how effective it may actually be.
2. May help with pain management
There is encouraging evidence that CBD can help with pain relief. However, most of this research has been conducted in clinical patients, such as those recovering from a serious illness or condition.
How applicable this is to the type of pain felt after exercise, such as DOMs lasting 48 hours, is difficult to say because pain is a complex phenomenon with different causes and intensities.
It may be more relevant for those who participate in high-impact sports, such as rugby, where evidence shows that due to the nature of their sport they tend to feel pain.
In addition, it may be useful if you have to train through minor injuries and may be an alternative to chronic painkiller use.(5)