When it comes to energy, most of us reach for a cup of coffee or a carbonated energy drink to shake off the morning cobwebs. After a few sips, you start to feel human again and you’re ready for the day's adventures to begin. However, all that caffeine and sugar can be dangerous, particularly if you consume these types of beverages multiple times per day. For those interested in reducing your caffeine and sugar intake (or if you have a caffeine sensitivity), you might be surprised to learn that CBD can help! Most users are aware that CBD can help you sleep, but the alternative is true as well. If you’re curious to learn how this bountiful cannabinoid can make a difference in your daily activities, you’re in for a treat with today’s topic!
A Quick Rundown of CBD
CBD, short for cannabidiol, has enjoyed immense popularity for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it contains no psychoactive properties. CBD is derived from the hemp plant and contains less than 0.3% THC, meaning it won’t get you high or cause you to feel any intoxicating effects. Certain types of CBD may have less than this amount, (i.e., broad spectrum and CBD isolate), but according to the 2018 Farm Bill, all cannabinoid-infused products must comply with this threshold.
CBD is a naturally-occurring cannabinoid of the hemp plant and can be infused into a sprawling assortment of products. CBD is readily available both online and in-store and come in almost every product form imaginable (more on that in the following paragraphs!). Some of these products come with multiple cannabinoids for added benefits, including CBN and CBG. CBD products are best used for an extended period of time and are easily incorporated into your morning or evening routine. Since there are no immediate effects when consuming CBD, it may take time for you to notice any changes in your overall health and wellness.
What Does CBD Do?
While CBD is an excellent way to help your overactive mind relax and manage stress, there’s much more that CBD is capable of that you may not be aware of. If you’re doubtful if CBD really does give you energy, it’s important to understand how CBD reacts with your body’s natural endocannabinoid system. CBD works naturally with your body’s endocannabinoid system to help you balance your sleep-wake cycle, which in turn may help you feel more energized. As CBD is broken down within your body, it has the unique ability to enhance your body’s protein synthesis. You’ll remember from your high school science classes that the body needs protein to burn for energy, a fact that many consumers continue to practice with protein shakes before and after the gym.
CBD can also help regulate your sense of wakefulness within the brain, thus allowing you feel less sleepy after getting up and ultimately helping you get started with daily tasks. A recent study in 2014 showed that CBD helped increase dopamine, the body’s natural neurotransmitter that is most often associated with happiness but is also responsible for learning skills, motivation, mood regulation, and heart rate. Since dopamine levels rise and fall based on risk and reward, CBD’s ability to encourage dopamine production can greatly influence your body’s “perceived” energy levels.
How Will CBD Make Me Feel?
I say “perceived” energy levels because the mind is a powerful thing. There are no shortage of placebo stories in which the mind fully believed it was consuming something for a desired effect, when in reality there was nothing special about the product itself. When your mind perceives something as a good thing, it can magnify the effects without the user being aware. However, CBD has undergone numerous studies and testing for mood swings, mental issues, and even epilepsy, so it’s not simply a mental ideology.
That being said, the overall effectiveness of CBD will vary with the individual. The amount consumed, product type selected, frequency of consumption, and many other factors can have a noticeable impact on how CBD will affect you. Your weight, metabolism, age, gender, and previous exposure to cannabis will also dictate how much you need to take and over what period of time.
Can CBD Give Me Energy?
For those struggling with motivation or difficulty getting your day started, CBD’s natural reaction with your endocannabinoid receptors may help give you the energy you need. Just as how the body knows to acetaminophen for a headache and ibuprofen for inflammation, your body can actively use CBD to help jumpstart your energy levels rather than to make you sleepy. The CB1 and CB2 receptors can help increase low energy levels and calm your energy levels when it’s time to rest.
Once these receptors are activated, the body’s naturally occurring cannabinoids are synthesized. Anandamide is associated with happiness but can also be involved with our motivation levels, appetite, and sleep processes. The 2-ag cannabinoid isn’t quite as well-known because the body absorbs it fairly quickly, but is produced in higher quantities and bonds quickly with our CB1 and CB2 receptors (compared to anandamide only bonding with the CB1 receptors).
As the body’s endocannabinoid system works in harmony with CBD, it is quite possible that it can help regulate your energy levels, especially if you suffer from low energy levels. While it won’t be enough to completely replace your morning cup o’ joe, a study in Brazil concluded that 15mg of CBD was enough to promote wakefulness in healthy volunteers and helped the users stay alert.
How Much CBD Should I Take?
Dosages of CBD range from the low end of 15mg to the high end of 30mg or more. If you’re just starting on your CBD journey, anywhere from 5-15mg is good to start with. If you’re a more seasoned CBD user, higher dosages of CBD may be more advisable. Consider a dosage of at least 15mg and work your way up to what you’re comfortable with. Since CBD doesn’t have any immediate results and does not have any psychoactive effects, you’ll need to be patient. CBD starts working naturally with your body’s endocannabinoid system over a prolonged period of time. Some users claim to feel a difference after a few days while others need nearly a month to notice any changes. Remember that CBD isn’t a quick fix, but rather, a long-term way to help improve your overall mental health and wellness.
Another thing to consider is when you consume CBD. In order to help regulate your body’s natural endocannabinoid system, it’s crucial that you consume your desired dosage consistently. Try setting an alarm or reminder to help you remember when it’s time to re-up on your CBD consumption. Not only will this help you maximize the benefits of the cannabinoid, but it will help you settle into a routine that you can adhere to with minimal effort. As your body settles into the routine, you may very well notice an improvement in your energy levels throughout the day.
What CBD Products Should I Use?
Thanks to the marvels of innovation in the cannabinoid industry, CBD is available in almost any product type you can imagine. For those who like consumable products, there are gummies and tinctures (flavored, unflavored, and naturally flavored) that can offer a unique treat to your taste buds. For our no-nonsense users, softgels and capsules are easily incorporated into a vitamin regimen and are odorless and flavorless. If you’re fond of the inhalable varieties, CBD comes in pre-rolls and even raw flower that can be ground up and used in either an emptied cigarette cartridge or a specialized herbalizer. While there are topical products like creams and lotions, much of the CBD is lost as it cannot penetrate further than the dermal layer and won’t be able to enter the bloodstream.
Here at Erth Hemp, we offer a fantastic variety of products tailored to both the inexperienced and the seasoned CBD user. We encourage our inhalable audience to check out our assortment of CBD vape juices and pre-rolls, while our consumable crowd might gravitate towards our CBD tinctures and capsules. We offer sample sizes for the skeptical users or those looking to try before they buy. Whatever product you choose, you can rest assured that we here at Erth Hemp use premium ingredients and stand by our products in terms of purity and potency.
Each of our products are thoroughly tested by third-party independent labs and are confirmed to have 0.3% THC or less, as is mandated by the 2018 Farm Bill. If you have any questions about anything mentioned in this article or about CBD in general, we encourage you to reach out to us with your inquiries. We’re quite proud of how far the the hemp plant has come and look forward to helping you on your journey through the wonderful world of CBD. In our next article, we’ll be talking about the best time of day to consume CBD in order to maximize it’s benefits. Be sure to check back soon for this and other fascinating articles pertaining to hemp and all it has to offer! We look forward to seeing you there!
