CBD is an all-natural supplement designed to bring calm and strength during stressful periods. It supports your body’s natural balance while helping promote restful sleep that reduces anxiety.
A 2023 study concluded that CBD products possess the potential to alleviate stress-related behaviors; however, more controlled studies must be completed. CBD works on multiple receptors and pathways within the brain in order to alleviate maladaptive stress responses.
1. It calms anxiety
CBD helps the endocannabinoid system send signals that calm your body and reduce stress, acting on over 65 receptors in your brain including serotonin (a neurotransmitter that regulates mood). Research has indicated that CBD may help reduce anxiety, improve depression and even alleviate chronic stress.
Studies of CBD’s effects as an anxiolytic have been promising in both preclinical and human experimental settings, without altering baseline anxiety levels. CBD was shown to decrease experimentally induced anxiety among healthy controls and SAD patients while increasing contextual fear conditioning extinction rate and decreasing activation of amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex activation during fearful facial stimulus encounters as well as decreasing skin conductance fluctuations during anticipatory challenge scenarios.
Studies conducted using MRI SPECT imaging on healthy subjects have demonstrated that CBD significantly reduced resting cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in limbic and paralimbic regions such as the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and left posterior cingulate gyrus; although these changes did not correlate with any anxiolytic behavioral responses. Furthermore, dynamic causal modeling analysis demonstrated that CBD decreased forward functional connectivity between amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex.
2. It improves sleep
CBD is a nonpsychoactive cannabinoid that works to promote sleep and reduce anxiety. It acts on multiple synergistic targets simultaneously, including increasing endocannabinoid receptor activity, inhibiting FAAH enzyme activity and decreasing neuroinflammation and excitotoxicity associated with stress responses [52].
This study, conducted in a psychiatric clinic, retrospectively recorded monthly data on anxiety and sleep for 72 adult patients using CBD to treat anxiety or sleep complaints as part of their psychotherapeutic care. Anxiety reduced within one month and continued to diminish throughout the duration of treatment while sleep improved but fluctuated from month to month.
Participants used either a THC-free CBD isolate product or broad spectrum product for 30 days. Participants self-reported on both products’ effectiveness for stress relief, with greater ratings given to broad spectrum product. Behavior recordings demonstrated that CBD improved sleep quality by increasing NonREM sleep in two 45-min bins of time.
3. It helps with stress relief
CBD works to relieve stress through non-endocannabinoid receptors, including 5-HT1A serotoninergic receptors and peroxisome proliferator-activated gamma (PPARg). CBD inhibits activity at NMDA receptors associated with stress while simultaneously decreasing neuroinflammation associated with neuroinflammation; furthermore it desensitizes transient receptor potential vanilloid member 1 (TRPV1) which mediates stress response [52].
Studies demonstrate the beneficial properties of CBD to alleviate stress-related symptoms. According to one 2022 Nature study, people suffering from social anxiety disorder who took CBD felt significantly less anxious during a public speaking simulation test than those taking a placebo pill.
Participants of a study comparing self-rated effects of two THC-free CBD tincture products found that participants preferred broad spectrum products to isolate products for relieving stress and managing insomnia, possibly due to synergistic interactions among cannabinoids and terpenes found within hemp plants. If possible, look for full spectrum products manufactured within the US according to good manufacturing practices for pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements.
4. It helps with burnout
Studies demonstrate CBD’s efficacy at relieving symptoms associated with anxiety disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, while protecting against stress-induced brain damage and encouraging healthy neurotransmitter balance.
Study results conducted among frontline health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic revealed that CBD could alleviate emotional exhaustion and burnout among frontline staff members. Emotional fatigue was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory while depression was assessed with Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Participants assigned to CBD group reported less feelings of emotional exhaustion or burnout compared with controls group.
CBD can help ease insomnia and sleep disruptions associated with burnout. By stimulating serotonin receptors – similar to what anti-anxiety medications do – CBD provides gentle support throughout the night, offering comforting relief if you’re struggling. For insomnia sufferers, take one dropperful of broad-spectrum CBD oil before bed or add a dropperful to herbal tea for added soothing benefits. It may also relieve physical tension and pain associated with stress or burnout – try applying topicals of CBD directly onto sore shoulders or stiff necks for instantaneous relief!
