CBD, short for cannabidiol, is one of 113 identified phytocannabinoids in cannabis plants (not to be confused with the marijuana that gets people high). CBD interacts with the body’s natural, internally made endocannabinoid system to control bodily functions like sleep, our immune systems, and even mood.
Researchers recently found that CBD reduces the blood pressure response to mental stress in healthy volunteers. Read more about it here.
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders are characterized by fear, worry and other symptoms such as sweating, rapid heartbeat and dizziness. Anxiety disorder symptoms are often triggered by traumatic events or stressful life circumstances. They also appear to be related to a chronic stress response that may contribute to systemic inflammation and poor physical health, including cardiovascular disease and autoimmune diseases.
Several studies have shown that CBD is effective in the treatment of anxiety and panic attacks. These results suggest that CBD may be able to reduce the effects of trauma and chronic stress on the brain. CBD’s anxiolytic properties have been attributed to its action in limbic and paralimbic brain areas. For example, a SPECT study found that CBD reduced rCBF in the amygdala and hippocampus of healthy volunteers and increased rCBF in the periaqueductal gray and posterior cingulate gyrus.
Pain
Pain is a very common symptom that can be treated with medicinal cannabis. In fact, tens of thousands of people are prescribed cannabis by their doctors in Australia, largely to manage chronic pain.
The pain relief provided by THC/CBD combination medicines and CBD-only medicines is a significant step forward in treating many common medical conditions. There is substantial evidence that they can reduce pain and stress, and moderate to strong evidence of their effectiveness in treating anxiety and depression.
CBD interacts with our natural, internally made endocannabinoids to help regulate the body’s physiology and mood. It enhances and inhibits different molecular targets depending on what’s needed at the time. This means it “turns up” or “turns down” the volume on certain signals moving through your body and brain, not unlike the way an algorithm can change which posts you see on social media.
Sleep
For people who have trouble falling and staying asleep, CBD may help. That’s because it might reduce the anxiety that can interfere with sleep, according to a study published in the January issue of The Permanente Journal by Kaiser-Permanente.
CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is responsible for regulating bodily functions like mood and pain, as well as sleep and the immune system. Unlike THC, which can produce the telltale cannabis high, CBD doesn’t make you feel “high.”
The researchers found that people taking CBD had better sleep quality and longer sleep duration than those taking placebos. And the benefits lasted for three months. Many sleep products containing CBD also include other ingredients meant to help with sleep, such as melatonin and herbs like valerian and chamomile.
Epilepsy
In a recent clinical study, researchers found that a highly purified pharmaceutical-grade CBD reduced seizures in children with severe, drug-resistant epilepsies. They also observed significant improvements in behavioural, psychological and cognitive faculties.
CBD may reduce the frequency of seizures by blocking the positive feedback loop between LPI-GPR55 signaling and apoptosis in neurons that causes more seizures to occur. It is not a cure for seizures, and patients must continue to take their antiseizure medications.
However, it is important to consult your epilepsy specialist before attempting to use CBD. This is because it may interfere with how your existing epilepsy medicine works. A pure form of CBD, Epidiolex, was approved by the FDA in 2018 for treatment of two rare forms of epilepsy. Animal research has shown that CBD can reduce the severity of seizures in Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, and the type of epilepsy associated with tuberous sclerosis complex.
Inflammation
Inflammation is the body’s immune system response to a foreign substance that could be causing damage, such as a harmful germ or a splinter. It’s the reaction that occurs when you bang your knee or get a cut, and it sends out an army of white blood cells to surround the irritant and create redness and swelling.
Leukocytes, which are specialized cells in your immune system, use pattern recognition receptors to bind to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) or damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). When they bind with these molecules, they release chemical signals that cause blood vessels to become leaky and phagocytes to move into the area to kill bacteria or clean up debris.
But unregulated inflammation can also lead to diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease and asthma. And it isn’t always easy to treat with drugs that simply mask the symptoms.