With the soaring popularity of CBD, there are increasing reports of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid being beneficial for just about everything…and then some.
Anxiety. Arthritis. Epilepsy. Chronic pain. Cancer. Alzheimer’s. Multiple Sclerosis. Schizophrenia. Inflammation. Reduced blood pressure. PTSD. Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Addiction.
Seriously the list goes on and on.
CBD is endorsed by celebrities and famous athletes.
It’s given to children by parents looking for alternatives prescription drugs without nasty side effects. We are referring of course to the prescription medication Epidiolex, the first FDA approved CBD product.
While cannabidiol was virtually unheard of less than a decade ago, today it’s literally everywhere.
Sanjay Gupta praised CBD on the Dr. Oz Show last year, saying “I think there is a legitimate medicine here. We’re talking about something that could really help people.”
It’s been called the “new avocado toast.”
Many people see CBD as the new “cure-all,” so much so that the industry is estimated to grow by some 700 percent in the next couple of years.
So it’s supposedly good for everything and more. But what are the most common reasons people take CBD?
Let’s take a look.
Why are People Taking CBD?
While CBD is still in its early days and being studied, here’s some information we know so far.
In 2017, HelloMD and the Brightfield Group published a broad study on the use of CBD.
For the study, 2,400 people of HelloMD’s 150,000 community members were surveyed about several aspects of their use, including usage, perceptions and misperceptions, and overall knowledge of cannabidiol.
So what exactly did people report they were using CBD for?
Key findings of the study found that CBD is most commonly used to treat insomnia, depression, anxiety, and joint pain.
Let’s take a deeper look.
CBD for Insomnia
CBD for insomnia is gaining rapid attention. When you consider that about 40 million people in the US suffer from some type of sleep disorder, it’s easy to see why so many are using it to help them get the sleep they need.
While studies on CBD and sleep are far and few between, there is some research that indicates CBD can help modulate sleep and that endocannabinoid signaling can regulate sleep stability.
How much CBD are people taking to help them fall asleep and stay asleep?
It’s a mixed bag, as CBD affects everyone differently.
While it’s known to offer a feeling of alertness in small doses, CBD has shown to have more of a sedating effect in higher doses.
What exactly do people have to say about taking CBD for insomnia?
A couple anecdotal reports found online say:
“I just started using CBD and found it helps me get very relaxed for sleep and more importantly perhaps it helps me stay asleep for eight hours.”
“CBD oil has helped my insomnia a great deal. I don’t have problems falling asleep and I sleep through the night.”
CBD for Depression
According to the most recent reports, some 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression. In the US alone, 16.2 million people (6.7% of the entire adult population) have experienced at least one depressive episode in the past year.
It’s no wonder depression is one of the most popular reasons people take CBD. But does it work?
Research says yes. And while CBD shouldn’t be considered a “cure” for depression, it seems that it can certainly help relieve some of its symptoms.
How much CBD are people taking to manage symptoms of depression?
It’s hard to say, as when it comes to CBD there is little information on standardized doses.
A commonly used standard dose, however, is 25mg twice a day. Once in the morning and again about an hour before bed. Most people will generally adjust (increase or decrease) their dose from here until they find what works for them.
What do people say about CBD for depression?
In response to a 2019 study that contends “cannabidiol induces rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects,” one Reddit user had the following to say:
“As someone with depression and anxiety I can anecdotally confirm the effects of this. I took CBD oil for months and all hints of anxiety and depression vanished. Motivation came back and things didn’t always seem so doom and gloom.”
Note: While CBD has shown to be beneficial for depression, it should not be considered a cure. Depression can be a very serious condition, and CBD shouldn’t be thought of as something that will miraculously make you feel better.
Getting regular exercise, eating healthy, getting enough sleep, seeing a trusted therapist and other positive lifestyle choices like a healthy social circle of friends and family should all be taken into consideration when suffering from depression.
CBD for Anxiety
One of our favorite studies about CBD as a potential treatment for anxiety disorders looked at evidence from several preclinical, human experimental, clinical, and epidemiological studies. Basically it gathered all the evidence to date about the effectiveness of CBD for anxiety and found the non-psychoactive cannabinoid to be beneficial for:
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- General anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
No wonder it’s one of the most common reasons people use CBD.
In a Business Insider article, it was noted that CBD offered an experience of “subtle but noticeable differences in anxiety levels.”
What do other people have to say?
One individual who uses CBD for anxiety claimed it to be “better than Xanax, 10x.”
Another user put it like this: “I get this extreme anxiety that makes me want to just exit my body entirely and I cannot, there is no escape. Before I lay down [for bed], I take the drops of CBD oil under the tongue…within about 10 minutes or so I feel this magical warm blanket crawl up from nowhere and I feel the tension melt away.”
CBD for Joint Pain
Joint pain is extremely common, and there can be several different reasons why it occurs. While one of the most common reasons for joint pain is arthritis, it can also be caused by strains, sprains, and other injury. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some 15 million people or more in the US suffer from joint pain on a regular basis.
With more people looking towards natural alternatives to over-the-counter pain relievers like Tylenol, Advil, and Aleve, CBD it seems has taken the spotlight when it comes to relieving uncomfortable pain in the joints.
There are actually several studies that highlight the effectiveness of CBD to help with joint pain.
A 2016 study found transdermal application of CBD “significantly reduced” joint swelling and pain in animal models of arthritis.
A 2017 study suggests “CBD may be a safe, useful therapeutic for treating osteoarthritis pain.
Using CBD for joint pain is even recommended by the Arthritis Foundation.
What do people have to say?
According to one person who uses CBD for joint pain, “I put CBD oil under my tongue 4x a day. Expensive, yes. But it works.”
Final Thoughts on the Most Common Reasons People Take CBD
Yes, CBD is used for pretty much everything these days. The most common reasons (we know so far) people take CBD, however, are for insomnia, depression, and joint pain.
Personally, we take CBD everyday to help us focus and keep our anxiety levels in check. We’re also hug fans of CBD topicals for relieving not only sore muscles after a long bike ride or particularly strenuous yoga workout, but also to relieve joint pain from old snowboarding injuries that flares up from time to time.
The list of conditions CBD could benefit is extensive, and more people than ever before are discovering just how beneficial the cannabinoid truly is. It’s no wonder the industry is growing as rapidly as it is.
CBD is like nothing the world has ever seen. It’s said to work for practically every condition under the sun, has shown to be safe and non-habit forming, and is a natural alternative to many OTC and prescription medications.
Something else the HelloMD and Brightfield Group survey found? That nearly half of the people that take CBD stop taking traditional meds like Tylenol or prescription painkillers like Vicodin. Of the 2,400 people they surveyed, 80 percent said they found CBD products to be “very or extremely effective.”
According to Dr. Perry Solomon, Chief Medical Officer of HelloMD (a site we’re huge fans of ,if you can’t already tell…), “This landmark survey, in terms of its size and depth, shows the tremendous value that these products have for patients.
Hopefully, access for products such as these will help patients all across the country who cannot obtain medication that contains THC.”
Why do you take CBD?
We want to know!
Drop a comment below and please let us know why you are using CBD.
References:
https://www.cbdschool.com