Many CBD users cite anxiety and stress relief as one of the primary motivations for using it. CBD may help relieve tension while improving mood, sleep patterns and quality of life.
CBD was demonstrated to significantly decrease anxiety levels during a public speaking simulation task in healthy participants of an experimental anxiety study.
Anxiety
CBD has been reported to help alleviate anxiety and promote restful sleep, but more research needs to be conducted into how CBD works to treat anxiety. If you plan to try CBD for yourself, be sure to speak to your physician beforehand as any medications or supplements taken could interact negatively with its use.
Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health conditions, causing symptoms like trouble thinking, irritability and difficulty focusing. Ongoing anxiety increases your risk for heart attack or stroke.
CBD has shown promise as an anxiety treatment. According to a 2021 study, CBD helped people reduce anxiety and sleep better. Further research is required. Recently, Epidiolex was approved by the FDA as a medication to treat two rare forms of childhood epilepsy that don’t respond well to other antiseizure medicines, with its high dosage of CBD providing effective seizure reduction – this marks the first time such medicine was approved as medicine to treat neurological conditions.
Pain
Chronic pain is a widespread condition, and its debilitating nature can leave many in despair. CBD can provide effective pain relief while simultaneously acting as an anti-inflammatory. By engaging with receptors in the brain to reduce discomfort and increase relaxation, CBD can treat multiple forms of discomfort including arthritis, headaches and backaches.
CBD has demonstrated its powerful analgesic effect in animal models. When tested on rats with spared nerve injury neuropathic pain, repeated CBD injections successfully reduced mechanical allodynia; this analgesic effect was mediated by 5-HT1a receptors but partially blocked by capsazepine (another 5-HT antagonist).
Researchers found in 2022 study that CBD was more effective than placebos at relieving chronic pain, but these results should be taken with caution due to small number of studies and heterogeneity of study designs; additionally most rely on self-reporting or subjective scales to measure pain reduction.
Insomnia
CBD may help some individuals to overcome sleep disturbances. Studies and reports demonstrate its benefits in both falling asleep quickly and staying asleep through the night, though further scientific investigation will need to be completed to verify its efficacy as an insomnia treatment from a medical standpoint.
Lack of quality sleep increases your risk for mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, aggravating existing symptoms as well as diminishing effectiveness of treatment for these illnesses.
Insomnia often co-occurs with other psychological symptoms, including irritability, low mood, changes in appetite and reduced libido. It may also impair one’s ability to function at work and at home; cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi) has proven particularly successful at treating both insomnia and mental health conditions simultaneously; particularly beneficial among those diagnosed with depression, alcohol abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder or psychosis comorbidly.
Neurological Disorders
CBD exerts anti-inflammatory effects in the brain by modulating adenosine A2 receptors. Studies conducted on neuroinflammation models for MS showed it to effectively block neuroinflammation; this effect could only be blocked with ZM241385, an A2A antagonist. Furthermore, CBD positively allosterically modulated COX activity while increasing PPARg activity for increased production of anti-inflammatory resolvins [212].
CBD proved its efficacy against psychotic symptoms in rodent models by decreasing stereotypy and locomotion induced by dopaminergic agonists, similar to haloperidol and clozapine [57]. CBD reduced glutamate excitability associated with epilepsy by binding directly to NMDA receptors and blocking voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels; additionally it enhanced apoptosis via activation of both NMDA receptors and AMPAR [214].
Studies with human patients suffering from tuberous sclerosis complex demonstrate that long-term, adjunctive CBD treatment results in a significant reduction in seizure frequency (median percentage reduction across multiple 12-week windows) without changing AE profile [225]. Furthermore, CBD inhibits low-density lipoprotein cholesteryl ester formation via direct interaction with ACAT; this may be related to its effect on Apolipoprotein E (APOE4) alleles linked with AD.
