Stress, CBD and The Endocannabinoid System ~

As I write this we are in the midst of a global health crisis, and most of us are under some form of quarantine at home.

These are undoubtedly stressful times, and having restrictions on your movements can be tough on our mental health.

A lot of us depend on the outdoors for not only our physical fitness but for refreshing our mental state. I don’t know about you, but the lack of being outdoors and in the sunshine is a real downer for me!

Feeling stressed is just part of the situation we find ourselves in. So if you can’t get outside, could a natural supplement like CBD help reduce stress?

But first, how does stress work?

Stress triggers an internal response

Regardless of what job you do, it’s likely you have felt stressed at times – this is entirely normal.

Our body triggers a biological response when we face a major challenge or are under attack.

This is via a surge in the release of a hormone called cortisol, which downstream has a number of effects:

*Increasing the levels of glucose in the bloodstream

*Impacting the area of the brain which controls the flight or fight response

*Improving the absorption of glucose in the brain

These changes prep our body for the upcoming challenge or threat and allows our body to deal with it.

However, this spike is meant to be only short term, and feeling stressed for prolonged periods of time can cause the hormone to have other undesirable effects.

Chronic stress is often associated with anxiety, and while anxiety is a broad term encompassing a variety of feelings, it’s extremely common.

Fortunately, natural supplements like CBD could be helpful as a tool to help boost our endocannabinoid system (ECS for short), maintaining homeostasis.

But what’s the ECS?

The endocannabinoid system is a complex physiological system that controls and influences all other systems in our body!

It’s proven to help our other vital systems maintain balance, which can indirectly support our stress levels.

But how does this work with CBD?

CBD and Stress

The human body produces its compounds known as endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids), which act on receptors in the ECS.

Interestingly, the compounds found in hemp (e.g CBD) mimic the actions of endocannabinoids and act on the same receptors. These are known as phytocannabinoids.

As a result, these plant chemicals act like keys to the system of receptors (locks) found in the ECS and have similar effects to the cannabinoids found in our bodies.

When we consume CBD, these receptors react and cause downstream effects, which by impacting our other vital systems, can influence stress levels.

Anecdotally, the reports using CBD for stress are rising exponentially as people search for natural and alternative solutions.

How to find the right CBD oil

There are a lot of CBD products on the market today, and you can differentiate high-quality products by taking the following steps:

*Avoid CBD Isolate based products as they are thought not to work as well as full or broad-spectrum CBD oils. Click here if you’re in the UK to check out CBD brand Nature and Bloom which offers broad spectrum and double tested CBD grown in Colorado.

*Look for third-party test certificates (CoA for short) to ensure the CBD oil is safe and contains the CBD the label suggests it does.

*Query where the hemp is grown, the gold standard is Colorado or other states with strict state-level regulation on hemp manufacturing.