A Comprehensive Guide to How CBD Affects Your Brain
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound found in cannabis that can have health-promoting effects. It has become gaining popularity as a way to support overall health, and more research is being conducted on how CBD may affect brain health and the entire body. Recent studies suggest CBD may benefit mood and anxiety, slow down age-related cognitive decline, reduce pain and inflammation, promote better sleep, and even help with weight loss.
How Does CBD Work With the Brain?
CBD affects the brain by interacting with receptors found in the endocannabinoid system. This receptor system is responsible for regulating mood, sleep, pain, inflammation, and even memory. When CBD binds to these receptors, it helps bring balance to vital processes like neurotransmitter release and neuron communication. This can result in a range of beneficial effects throughout the body including reduced anxiety, improved cognition, and more restful sleep.
CBD helps to reduce stress and anxiety by modulating the release of hormones like cortisol and increasing anandamide, which is an endocannabinoid shown to be associated with reduced stress levels. CBD also works on receptors in the brain that are responsible for controlling mood, emotion, and behavior. These effects can help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety and contribute to greater emotional stability overall. Finally, CBD might even help enhance cognitive performance by improving memory recall and focus.
These effects are gained from CBD’s interaction with our endocannabinoid system, or ECS, which is responsible for modulating our stress levels and helping to regulate mood. CBD helps to regulate the release of hormones in response to stress that can contribute to lowered levels of anxiety. Additionally, CBD can help promote the release of anandamide, an endocannabinoid associated with creating feelings of bliss and contentment and providing calming effects on the brain. By helping to balance out these hormones, CBD can provide relief from symptoms of anxiety, allowing us to better manage and cope with stressful situations more effectively.
CBD also helps to improve our overall hippocampus health and brain fluidity. Our hippocampus is responsible for forming memories, learning and emotion regulation so it is particularly important that we keep its health up to date! By releasing neurochemicals, cannabinoids can help enhance nerve growth, which helps with memory recall and reduce age-related memory loss. Moreover, neurochemical release can help encourage the transmission of fluids between cells; this process is called neurogenesis and promotes a healthy flow of oxygen to the surrounding tissues. The result? Increased cognitive flexibility and decreased cognitive decline as we age.
CBD also interacts with other neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, resulting in enhanced clarity of thoughts and improved mood. These neurotransmitters control your reward system, stress response, motivation and pleasure — all important mental functions. By activating specific receptors in the brain and influencing certain hormones to be released, CBD helps regulate these systems in a balanced way so that all of these processes are working harmoniously. Ultimately, this leads to increased clarity of thought, lessened anxiety and better overall brain health.
One of the main ways that CBD affects the brain is by interacting with our endocannabinoid system, which is responsible for regulating many of our bodily functions, from hormones to sleep. Cannabinoids like CBD bind with the cannabinoid receptors throughout our body, including those in the brain. This binding helps regulate things like mood and stress response. CBD can also interact with other neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, resulting in improved clarity of thought and better mental health overall.