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There are many potential benefits of CBD oil for mental health, which is why they’ve become so popular.
For example, taking a CBD product can help relieve pain, such as chronic pain. Many people find that CBD helps them sleep, and it’s also shown promise as a treatment for epilepsy.
Along with physical health conditions, CBD may help mental health conditions as well.
The following are some of the big things to know about benefits of hemp and CBD oil for mental health.
What is CBD?
The most popular form of CBD that most people use is CBD oil. CBD is short for cannabidiol. This is a plant-based oil with plant chemicals. Cannabinoids are molecules naturally made by the body when we’re feeling happy or relaxed. Our body also releases cannabinoids when we sleep or exercise.
The cannabinoid system helps keep us balanced, making sure inflammation stays down, our intestines are working well and that our mood is good.
CBD oil can bind to the receptor sites in the body that natural cannabinoids bind to.
Benefits of CBD Oil for Mental Health
CBD doesn’t make you high like marijuana, and CBD from hemp is legal in all 50 states. The reason it doesn’t make you high is that it contains negligent levels of THC, which is the compound that makes you high if you use marijuana.
CBD is considered for the most part safe, although, of course, there’s risk taking any supplement.
1. Anxiety
When it comes to mental health, anxiety disorders affect a significant amount of people in the U.S. each year. It’s the most common mental health disorder.
Anxiety disorders can include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, and panic disorders, as well as PTSD.
Anxiety is also one of the reasons people most frequently say they use and get the benefits of CBD oil for mental health.
There have been a few studies showing that CBD could be at least somewhat effective for helping with the symptoms of various anxiety disorders.
There’s still a lot we don’t know for sure, though. Undoubtedly more research needs to be done before most doctors will feel comfortable completely recommending CBD for anxiety.
2. Depression
Depression, like anxiety, is a common mental health disorder in the U.S. Depression is thought to be linked to low serotonin levels. Animal studies have shown a possible role in CBD’s impact on these receptor sites.
There was a study in 2018 that found the antidepressant effects that CBD produces depend on the level of serotonin levels in the brain. In that study, CBD didn’t increase serotonin but instead changed how the brain responded to the serotonin already there.
3. Sleep Disorders
When you struggle with a sleep disorder, and you don’t get enough quality sleep each night, it can affect your health in a myriad of ways. It can diminish your mental health and it can also make you more likely to deal with physical health issues such as obesity and cardiovascular disease.
There was one study that looked at the effects of CBD on sleep and found 65% of participants had improved sleep quality scores after a month of taking an average of 25 mg of CBD each day.
Again, more studies are needed to look at those effects in a more in-depth way.
4. PTSD
We touched on PTSD above when discussing anxiety, but it requires discussion on its own as well. It affects more than 6% of adults in the U.S.
Symptoms of PTSD can include nightmares, avoidance of triggering events, and intrusive thoughts.
There is early evidence that CBD may help with the symptoms of PTSD.
5. Epilepsy
One of the most interesting areas of CBD research and advancement right now is looking at its benefits for epilepsy and other neurological disorders.
CBD has been found to decrease the severity and frequency of seizures.
The FDA recently approved a medication derived from cannabis, containing CBD, to help with the treatment of childhood seizure disorders.
Overall, while we need to know much more, CBD is thought to change how your brain receptors respond to serotonin and other chemicals linked to protect your mental health. These receptors are little proteins that are attached to cells that receive chemical messages.
They Help Cells Respond to Stimuli
It’s possible that in addition to helping specific symptoms of mental health disorders like anxiety and depression, Then CBD oil for mental health is more beneficial may help reduce feelings of isolation and other feelings associated with diminished mental health.
Cannabis will likely continue to be looked at as a possible important part of treatment for physical and mental health conditions.
