in cases of anxiety.
Soothing mood conditions
Your mood is affected by so many things, from outside stressors to chemical imbalances in the body. CBD can be helpful for clinical conditions (such as psychosis, clinical depression, and PTSD) and nonclinical conditions (such as sadness, feelings of isolation, frustration, and more) because it “calms” the brain by supporting the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the area of the brain responsible for behavior, among other functions.
CBD has been associated with relieving depression and improving your mood, and it has been indicated in studies to have antidepressant effects.
Helping manage sleep issues
Sleep conditions, from insomnia to sleep apnea and narcolepsy, are an epidemic. According to the American Sleep Association (sleepassociation.org), such conditions affect between 50 and 70 million Americans, and more than 70 percent of the adult population reports insufficient sleep.
Sleep studies in their early phases are indicating incredible results with measured doses of CBD. They suggest doses around 25 milligrams can help patients fall asleep, and then varying doses ranging from 50 to 160 milligrams can help people stay asleep. The studies indicate potential applications effective for the treatment of insomnia, a sleep condition that results in consistent feelings of unrest. And as I note in the preceding section, CBD seems to interrupt the body’s cortisol secretion, creating sedative effects that can also help with sleep issues.
Relieving pain and physical ailments
Promising research indicates that CBD can reduce inflammation and chronic pain, which is one of the contributors to the opioid epidemic. Additionally, patients are unlikely to build up a tolerance to CBD; that means they don’t have to increase dosages to maintain effects (another issue with opioids).
CBD affects a variety of enzymes throughout the body, including in the skin. For example, it suppresses the production of TNF-a, a pro-inflammatory enzyme found throughout the body, including the skin. CBD also promotes two receptors responsible for anti-inflammatory effects: TRPV-1, or vanilloid, and PPAR-y, or gamma.
The vanilloid receptor itself is responsible for decreasing the intensity of pain signals and the overall nervous system’s response to pain. Acute pain is caused by physical trauma of some sort, whether it has a known cause (like a shin bang or broken bone) or unknown cause (like a migraine or backache). For surface-level acute pain, you can use topical CBD treatments; for more severe acute pain, particularly internal, ingestible CBD is a better choice. Regardless of the pain type, you want to choose a CBD medium with a rapid onset so you don’t have to wait around for relief.
Transdermal patches are starting to fill that gap in the topical space because they offer internal relief with a topical treatment (head to Chapter 1 for more on transdermal treatment). Otherwise, the fastest onset is inhalation or sublingual (under the tongue) tinctures. Doses for pain should be higher than supplemental doses, and you can use them until the pain is alleviated without worrying about becoming dependent.
Promoting skin health and beauty
Inflammation is one of the largest contributors to skin stress or conditions, so CBD is showing promise in topical applications for the treatment of conditions like eczema, acne, psoriasis, and dryness. Early studies and a new clinical trial are indicating that synthetic CBD specifically is proving beneficial in the treatment of acne. (You can read more about synthetic CBD in Chapter 2.) The antifungal and antimicrobial properties of CBD also lend themselves to addressing skin concerns.
CBD isn’t believed to bond with the endocannabinoid receptors in the ECS system (which involves your body’s internal human cannabinoids, chemicals in hemp and cannabis). It does interact with the receptors, and a whole host of other receptors, including the vanilloid and gamma receptors I discuss in the earlier section “Relieving pain and physical ailments.” The vanilloid receptor is responsible for balance (homeostasis) in the skin. The gamma receptor is responsible for cell regulation, including inflammation relief.
STARTING WITHIN TO ADDRESS ROOT CAUSES
Westernized individuals often have the urge to hide or suppress symptoms, which only perpetuates the larger disease or issue. For anyone looking to topical CBD for skin relief from external stressors, I suggest turning inward first. Think about the potential internal and psychological root causes. For example, if you break out in hives each time your judgmental in-laws come to visit, perhaps that isn’t a coincidence. Try to accurately identify your stressors and then use the topicals as a secondary point of skin relief.
Looking at the Pros and Cons of Supplementing with CBD
CBD is to homeopathic supplements what Madonna was to the ’80s: It’s just hit after hit with widespread groups of people. The diverse nature of CBD, and the considerable variety of systems within the body capable of interacting with it, makes it incredibly compatible with a wide scope of needs. Because of these chameleonlike qualities, supplementing with CBD may well be beneficial for many individuals. Supplementing not just in terms of complementing and layering with your other (compatible) treatments, but also taking it as a general
