Can CBD improve your mood? This is yet another claim about the cannabinoid that has taken the nation by storm. But is this really Bob Marley’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” dream come true, or are CBD lovers just blowing smoke? We found the science that reveals the truth.
CBD is one of the most popular new supplements for relief from pain, anxiety, inflammation, and insomnia. And now, many are claiming that CBD has the power to change your outlook on life.
Can CBD help you to wake up to birds chirping, walk into work with a grin, and whistle a tune while you pay your taxes?
The effects may not be quite so drastic, but studies have shown that CBD can have a positive effect on your mood.
While more research needs to be done to confirm these results, the outlook is promising. These findings are especially exciting because CBD is all-natural, non-dependency forming, and has no serious side effects—something that pharmaceutical mood stabilizers and anti-depressants can’t claim.
Read on to find out how CBD improves your mood and how you can introduce CBD into your daily regimen for a boost of positivity and overall wellbeing.
CBD and The Endocannabinoid System
We’re going to go into the specifics on how CBD improves your mood in just a minute, but first, we need to look at how CBD affects one of the most important mood-stabilizing systems of the body—the endocannabinoid system.
SCIENCE WARNING: This section is pretty science-heavy, so if you want more of the plain English details, skip to the next section!
The endocannabinoid system is a body system that most animals have (like the circulatory, digestive, and nervous systems you learned about in school). It helps to regulate a bunch of crucial functions in your body such as appetite, pain, stress, and mood.
The endocannabinoid system is powered by neurotransmitters called endocannabinoids (who would have guessed?), which your body produces on its own. But it can also be fueled by phytocannabinoids, or cannabinoids from nature. This is where CBD comes in.
CBD binds indirectly to receptors throughout the body that receive cannabinoids, helping them to do their job more effectively and helping your body to produce more fuel for the system. They also slow down the degradation of cannabinoids, allowing you to feel their mood-boosting benefits for longer.
By fueling and regulating the endocannabinoid system, researchers believe that we can correct imbalances in the body that lead to stress, pain, inflammation, and even conditions like schizophrenia and epilepsy. In fact, a prescription drug containing CBD has already been approved by the FDA for two forms of epilepsy.
As we mentioned before, more research is needed to confirm the benefits of CBD. But the research on the endocannabinoid system is solid.
We know that the endocannabinoid system plays a role in the development of emotional states and in emotional and anxiety-related disorders. Studies have also suggested that plant-based cannabinoids, like CBD, may be effective at regulating this system to improve mood and relieve anxiety and emotional distress.
More research on CBD and the endocannabinoid system is forthcoming, and we’re looking forward to keeping you updated right here.
But for now, let’s look at how CBD can improve your mood via the endocannabinoid system and beyond.
How CBD Improves Mood
CBD doesn’t just affect the endocannabinoid system. It binds with a number of receptors throughout the body that are linked to mood. It may also relieve certain conditions associated with emotional distress, such as chronic pain. Let’s get down to the details on how CBD can improve your mood. Don’t worry, we’ll explain the science in plain English!
It Regenerates the Brain
CBD might be able to help you reforge neural pathways in the brain and grant you a renewed positivity you thought you’d lost.
When we talk about brain degradation, we’re not always talking about brain damage that causes noticeable effects. It could simply be the result of consuming alcohol, breathing polluted city air, or lacking stimulation as the years pass.
CBD has been shown to help regrow neurons in the brain in a process known as hippocampal neurogenesis. Scientists believe that this might be able to moderate emotional disorders linked to mood.
It Protects the Brain
Scientists believe that emotions are generated by the brain, mainly in the amygdala. As we age, take drugs or alcohol, or undergo trauma, our brains degrade and our brain cells can die. As a result, your ability to process emotions can start to change, and you may find yourself feeling moody, unhappy, or confused more often.
CBD is a neuroprotective supplement, meaning it protects the brain from degradation and keeps your cells healthy and your neurons firing like clockwork. Preserving brain cells is an important part of maintaining a stable mood and preventing emotional disorders.
But what about the brain function you’ve already lost? CBD can help with that too.
It’s an Anti-Inflammatory
Inflammation is commonly recognized as the cause of most chronic disease, so it’s no surprise that it’s also believed to be behind many psychiatric and mood disorders.
One of the most important ways the CBD improves overall health is by reducing inflammation. From muscle pain to arthritis to migraines, CBD has been shown to stop inflammation at its source.
Studies have also found CDB to reduce neuroinflammation, or inflammation in the brain. It is believed that reducing this inflammation can relieve anxiety and improve mood.
It can also help your brain to function properly, reducing brain fog and confusion that can lead to stress and sour moods.
It Improves Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the best ways to boost your mood. Those who don’t sleep enough feel more irritable, angry, frustrated, and unhappy. But getting more sleep isn’t always easy.
Research has found the CBD could be able to assist those who have trouble sleeping or even those with sleep disorders. Studies suggest that CBD can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
Often, CBD’s effect on sleep is related to its ability to relieve anxiety and stress. When you feel more relaxed, it’s easier to catch some ZZZs. But other research suggests that CBD has a direct result on sleep by helping to regulate your sleep/wake cycle.
This isn’t too hard to believe. Remember when we talked about how CBD impacts the endocannabinoid system? This system plays a key role in regulating circadian rhythms (your body clock) and your sleep cycle.
By empowering the endocannabinoid system and bringing your body into balance, it’s not too farfetched to believe that achieving restful sleep will be a part of that balance.
It Has Anti-Depressant Effects
Depression is one of the most serious mood disorders and a common cause of suicide in the USA. Mild depression can lead to feelings of hopelessness, emotional numbness, and sadness, while severe depression can result in unbearable states of sadness, rendering sufferers unable to work or take care of themselves.
Most medications for depression come with serious side effects that can make life almost as miserable as it was off the meds. This is why the recent breakthroughs with CBD are so exciting.
Studies have suggested that CBD can relieve symptoms of depression quickly and that those effects may last over time. Even better, CBD has no serious side effects and has no risk of overdosing.
Research is ongoing in this field, so if you suffer from depression, please do not replace any medication with CBD without consulting your doctor. But, future research may prove that CBD is a path to a better life for those suffering from this debilitating mood disorder.
It Relieves Pain
Many Americans live with chronic pain, and this can lead to irritability and depression. No one wants to be physically benched in the game of life when they’re still mentally ready to bat.
Soothing chronic pain can help many get a new lease on life, and a better mood follows.
Pain relief is one of the most common reasons that people use CBD, and there is a lot of research to back it up.
CBD stops pain by reducing inflammation, and it can do this in a variety of ways. CBD can relieve pain quickly when applied directly to the skin, helping athletes and those with arthritis with muscle and joint pain.
CBD can also provide pain relief internally by reducing neuropathic inflammation, and it has even been found to relieve some of the hardest types of pain to treat.
This has provided thousands with an alternative pain treatment that doesn’t pose a risk of dependency—unlike commonly-prescribed opioids.
Living with pain can drastically affect your mood. Getting your positivity back might be as easy as using CBD to soothe that pain that you thought was just a part of getting older or an unavoidable part of life.
It Decreases Stress
Stress is pervasive in America, and it causes most of us to be short-tempered and moody. Constant stress has also led to serious disorders among a large portion of the population.
Did you know that nearly 1 in 5 Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder?
This doesn’t just cause poor moods from time to time but can prevent sufferers from enjoying life or relationships in the long term.
CBD has shown a lot of promise in decreasing anxiety in many studies. It does this in a few ways.
CBD has a direct impact on the GABA receptors in the brain. GABA receptors help you feel relaxed and control stress levels. When these receptors are not stimulated, we feel jittery, stressed, and fearful.
When you take CBD, it modulates binding at your GABA receptors, resulting in stress relief and an improved mood. And CBD doesn’t stimulate GABA like drugs and alcohol do. It has a similar effect to anti-anxiety medication—but without the potentially dangerous side effects.
Scientists have also found that CBD reduces levels of cortisol, a hormone that is naturally produced in the body. Commonly called “the stress hormone,” you can guess what happens when levels get too high. Lowering levels of this hormone with CBD can help you relax, sleep better, and be more positive.
It Boosts Happiness and Motivation
What’s better for your mood than a little boost of happiness? CBD might be able to let the sun shine through the clouds in your life more often thanks to its effect on “the happiness hormones,” serotonin and dopamine.
CBD has been observed interacting with dopamine receptors, which may lead to an increase in happy feelings, fulfillment, and motivation. Feeling like you’re making the most of life and that your day-to-day is a rewarding experience can certainly help you to achieve a better mood.
There is even stronger—and more exciting—evidence regarding CBD and serotonin receptors. Serotonin is one of the most important hormones in the body, and it has been called “the key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness” by Hormone Health Network.
CBD may be able to amplify the activity of serotonin receptors to lift your spirits and boost your mood. It could also have the power to counter anxiety, depression, and addiction, but more research is needed.
How to Take CBD to Improve Your Mood
People take CBD for a bunch of different reasons and in many of different ways. There are CBD pills, oils, vaporizers, beverages, food, lotions, and even suppositories. So which is the best way to take CBD to improve your mood?
Luckily, getting a mood boost from CBD doesn’t require precise dosing or a single type of CBD, so you can pick your favorite and get started.
However, some products will have a slightly different effect upon taking them, so here’s a quick crash course on some of the best CBD products for improving your mood.
NOTE: We don’t recommend taking topical CBD products (lotions, creams, patches, balms, etc.) to improve your mood. These products are used primarily for pain and inflammation relief.
When choosing a dose for CBD, make sure to check the CBD concentration of the product (listed in milligrams). CBD products come in a variety of strength options, so taking 3 drops/capsules/gummies of one product may not be the same as taking 3 of another. Learn more about the right CBD dosage for improving your mood and more here.
Are you ready to improve your mood with CBD? Start by picking a product from one of the CBD companies we’ve reviewed on this site. All of the companies we recommend have been fully evaluated for quality and all undergo 3rd-party independent lab testing for verification. And as always, make sure to check with your doctor before starting a new supplement.
We wish you a better mood and a better life with CBD!
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