For athletes from any sport, the stress put on their bodies is heavier than the average person. Training sessions, competitions and the recovery process in between can all take a toll on athletes, both mentally and physically. Overtime many athletes are able to adapt to the stresses of training, increasing their performance along the way. But prolonged stress can also lead to pain and injury. Current standards for the treatment of pain, as well as the potential anxiety that comes with it, are effective but far from natural and can come with adverse side effects. In the search for safer pain relief and improved athletic recovery options, more and more athletes and sports enthusiast are turning to CBD. Should you too?
What is CBD?
CBD, also known as cannabidiol, is one of many naturally derived compounds found in cannabis sativa and hemp plants. CBD, along with other cannabinoids have been thought to help with an abundance of health and wellness related issues, from pain relief to sleep aid to stress reduction. CBD is the often lesser-known cousin of THC, typically known in relation to marijuana. CBD and THC differ widely in their potentially therapeutic properties, CBD being more popular among athletes for its non-psychoactive components.
CBD interacts directly with the human body’s endocannabinoid system, or the ECS. This body system is known for controlling and contributing to things like mood, appetite, pain and inflammation. By interacting with the receptors within the ECS, cannabidiol is able to impact the body and brain’s response to a number of things. This interaction has proven beneficial for people from all walks of life, including athletes.
How Could CBD Benefit Athletes?
Pain Relief & Management
One of the biggest benefits to CBD is its ability to aid in the management or alleviation of pain. CBD’s interaction with the ECS centers on eliminating free radicals, restoring homeostasis and controlling inflammation. CBD has the ability to attach to receptors in the ESC, responsible for sending messages to the brain. These transmissions to the brain can be positively impacted by CBD when it attaches to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the ECS. This interaction can lead to reduced pain signals reaching the brain, allowing the body to recover naturally in more comfort. For athletes or those with an active lifestyle, CBD can help with keeping inflammation at bay and over-worked muscles or joints “well-greased.”
Focus Aid & Stress Relief
Low levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, can lead to anxiety and even depression and are usually treated with prescription medications often bosting side-effects and dependability. CBD is a natural alternative for mental health treatment, proving useful for athletes or sports enthusiast plagued by stress of the sport and competition. CBD’s ability to interact with the human body and brain can lead to stress reduction brought on by more stability. Taking CBD before a training session could up the ante of your focus. Similarly, when taken following a workout, CBD could help with the winding down process that leads to reduced recovery times.
What Is the Entourage Effect of CBD?
Simply put, the entourage effect associated with CBD refers to its heightened effectiveness when combined with other cannabinoids. There are over 120 compounds that naturally occur in cannabis and hemp plants, meaning CBD has many cannabinoid cousins apart from just THC. All of these cannabinoids have a different interaction and impact on the ECS, so when more cannabinoids are taken in conjunction, their effect could be heightened.
Though CBD may be the most widely known cannabinoid from a wellness standpoint, it can benefit from the support of other cannabinoids. By combining the use of other cannabinoids with cannabidiol (CBD), the performance and interaction with the ECS could be positively increased. For this reason, many people including athletes, have been turning to broad and full-spectrum CBD products.
The diverse content on a full-spectrum CBD product, containing additional rare cannabinoids, could maximize the effectiveness of CBD in your athletic routine. While CBD interacts with the receptors in the ECS, it does not necessarily bind with them. In contrast, there are many cannabinoids that do bind with receptors. So, when taken in conjunction, other cannabinoids can bind with receptors in the ECS located in both the central and peripheral nervous system, boosting CBD’s interaction with the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
Entourage Effect For Athletes
The entourage effect is still in early stages on scientific understanding, but based on early research and anecdotal evidence, the entourage effect could be beneficial for athletes. Because the entourage effect includes the interaction of multiple cannabinoids in the endocannabinoid system, full-spectrum CBD products could be a great choice for athletes.
With the multi-facetted interaction of cannabinoids and the human body, athletes could experience increased therapeutic benefits from recovery, to mindset to better sleep. As an athlete, putting what is best for you body and performance into your routine is always something to consider, and the same goes for CBD. When searching for the right product for you, especially if you are turning to a full-spectrum CBD product, it is always a good idea to turn to companies and brands that are fully transparent and offer lab-test results.
To find the best quality CBD product to help with your athletic performance, the quality definitely matters. Only rely on CBD companies with tried-and-true extraction methods, third-party lab test results, and the utmost quality and purity. When it comes to CBD for athletes, turn to Tribe CBD. Crafted with the active lifestyle in mind, Tribe CBD has a collection of entirely tested and transparent full-spectrum CBD products, created to reduce pain and up relaxation. For more about Tribe CBD, check here.