Athletes are known to have a strong sense of resilience. That doesn’t mean that they are resistant to injury or over exertion. For athletes today, there are a variety of great options to incorporate into a recovery routine, and CBD is quickly becoming one of them. CBD can be utilized for a number of conditions or injuries, whether related to sports or not. This natural compound is becoming a newfound alternative for athletes, those with active lifestyles and everyone in between.
Researchers are currently looking at the benefits of using cannabidiol (CBD) to treat anxiety, pain, insomnia, depression and inflammation. Whether you need CBD for recovery or joint pain, this hemp-based product might be a powerful tool that can help you achieve your athletic goals.
1. Alleviate Stress
Even if you are only an amateur athlete, you know how stressful playing sports can be. One of the greatest advantages of using CBD products is stress relief. Stress occurs when you are in a state of emotional or mental strain. This happens because of the situation you are in. When you are under stress, you are more likely to suffer from strokes, heart attacks and arthritis.
Unfortunately, athletic activities are full of stress. If you want to calm your nervous system, you may want to try taking 10 to 20 milligrams of CBD each day. With CBD oil, you can easily apply a few drops under your tongue whenever you need stress relief.
2. Help With Inflammation
Inflammation occurs after an injury or over exertion. It can also trigger your body to fight illnesses through the immune system response. While some inflammation can help your body, excessive inflammation can cause problems like chronic illnesses, depression and pain. In addition, inflammation can slow down your recovery time.
During a 2010 study, researchers found cannabinoids were effective anti-inflammatory agents. Basically, CBD works to reduce inflammation to a safe, healthy level. This allows your muscles, joints and tissues to recover without suffering from chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Reduced oxidative stress is also connected to having better insulin sensitivity, less muscle soreness and improved immune function.
3. Aid Your Nervous System
When you take CBD, it may also help create homeostasis throughout your central nervous system and endocannabinoid system (ECS). These systems consist of your spinal cord and brain as well as receptors and transmitters. These two systems work together, in charge of communicating signals throughout your body using a network of neurons and nerves. When movements involve a lot of resistance like weight training, the nervous system becomes more active. If the nervous system is overworked for a long time, the muscles lose some of their strength and contraction power.
As an athlete, you may sometimes notice that your actions feel slower. You may be unable to lift as much. When this happens, it is because your muscles are not responding to neuronal firing.
Thankfully, CBD may be able to help this problem. It can protect myelin sheaths in the nervous system and support healthy neural signaling. Because of this process, CBD can help your nervous system recover from intense workouts.
4. Increases Muscle Relaxation
When you take CBD for recovery, it immediately works to increase your muscle relaxation. This is important for athletes because exercise produces lactate. When you have excess lactate in your muscles, it leads to soreness and cramps.
Since CBD is a muscle relaxant, it can help your body handle lactate. The compound helps neurotransmitters calm the mind and body. By reducing certain neurotransmitters, CBD is able to alleviate cramps and muscle spasms.
CBD may also help improve your joint health. When CBD oil is combined with icing, foam rolling and stretching, it can help treat tendonitis injuries.
5. Improve Sleep Quality
CBD may improve the quality of your sleep. In one study, nearly 36 percent of people found that CBD could treat sleep disorders on its own. CBD may be able to lower stress hormones and alleviate anxiety. As a result, people are able to have normal sleep cycles.
As an elite athlete, it is difficult to get enough sleep before major events. Your body needs sleep to recover, so a lack of sleep slows down the recovery process. Taking 10 milligrams of CBD oil can help you sleep better at night. The endocannabinoid system functions based on the rising and falling of the sun. Because of this, CBD’s effect on the endocannabinoid system may reset your sleep-wake cycles, so you can fall asleep and stay asleep.
Click here to check out Tribe CBD’s list of products, crafted with athletes and active lifestyles in mind.