Managing Stress with CBD Gummies

Office work, housework, taking care of kids (or maybe parents), the constant stream of notifications on our phones – there aren’t many people who don’t feel stress creeping in these days. We all know we need to find ways to manage our stress levels, but how do you do it without making your to-do list even longer?

What is Stress?

First, let’s talk about stress. Stress is a reaction in your body that occurs when you’re faced with challenges or threats. Your autonomic nervous system helps regulate many of your body’s functions, including heart rate and breathing. When you experience stress, your autonomic nervous system shifts into sympathetic nervous system engagement (often called Fight or Flight mode), preparing your body to be able to run away or fight, if needed. Your muscles may tense, your heart rate may increase, and you may feel a burst of adrenaline (along with cortisol, one of our stress hormones). After the perceived threat has passed, your autonomic nervous system switches to parasympathetic nervous system engagement (often called Rest and Digest mode). Your heart rate may lower, your muscles may relax, and your body directs more blood flow to internal organs and processes, like digestion.

Our autonomic nervous system regulates how much time we spend in Rest and Digest mode or in Fight or Flight mode, keeping our body in a state of balance or homeostasis (sound familiar?). Stress isn’t always bad, and often our Fight or Flight response is helpful. If you’ve ever had a close call while driving, you’ve probably seen how Fight or Flight mode can help you focus and respond quicky to avoid an accident.

Your body, however, needs time to recover between stressors to offset the health effects that can come from prolonged time in Fight or Flight mode. When stressors become long-term and you don’t get that chance to shift out of Fight or Flight mode, you’re experiencing chronic stress – which puts you at a higher risk of anxiety, depression, headaches, sleep problems, weight gain, and other health problems.¹ If you’re experiencing chronic stress, it’s important to find ways to manage that stress that don’t add to your overwhelm. Many people find that adding CBD gummies, either by themselves or combined with lifestyle changes, is an easy way to unwind and manage stress better.

How CBD Works in the Body

Cannabidiol, or CBD, works by interacting with more than 65 molecular targets. The cannabinoid is shown to activate serotonin receptors, increase dopamine levels, activate gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors, inhibit the overproduction of glutamate, increase adenosine levels, and more.² Although the neurotransmitters influenced by CBD play vital roles in multiple aspects of overall well-being, it's the cannabinoid's interaction with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) that is most often credited with CBD's impressive range of potential benefits.

The ECS is the largest regulatory system in the human body – a complex network comprised of two main cellular receptors (CB1 and CB2), specific neurotransmitters (the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-AG), and the metabolic enzymes that break down those neurotransmitters once their messages are delivered (FAAH and MAGL).³ Your ECS regulates many vital processes in your body, including mood, mild stress, appetite and more.

In short, CBD interacts with your ECS, helping regulate your body and its various processes into homeostasis, or balance. 

CBD Gummies vs. Other Stress Management Tools

Not only do many people find that CBD helps them feel less stressed, but many even prefer it to other common stress management tools! In a 2019 CBDistillery® survey of 1,900 customers, 89% of CBD users reported that CBD helps calm their minds. Eighty-two percent preferred the effects of CBD gummies, oil tinctures, topicals and softgels to relax and unwind over meditation, and 79% preferred the effects of CBD over yoga. An impressive 89% of our survey participants also reported positive results using hemp-derived CBD for sleep support, and 88% said CBD helps with mild or temporary anxiety. 

But luckily for everyone trying to stress less, we don’t have to choose between CBD and other stress management tools. If you’re looking for help relaxing and unwinding, consider incorporating both CBD gummies and these wellness strategies in your daily routine.

Increasing Physical Activity  

Stress hormones prepare your body to fight or flee with a reactive burst of energy. While this may have been helpful to our ancestors, where a stressful situation often meant running from a bear or similar predator, today’s stressful situations don’t typically require us to run or fight. Engaging in a physical activity you enjoy helps balance your cortisol and adrenaline levels, in the same way that running from or fighting a predator would. Even short bursts of activity can be beneficial. And if increasing your physical activity leaves you sore, good news: in a December 2019 CBDistillery customer survey, 84% of CBD users reported that CBD helped with pain after physical activity!

Practicing Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness is the practice of being in the moment as it is, without adding additional worries or mental chatter. In mindfulness meditation, you simply sit, observing any thoughts that arise and releasing them, coming back to the present moment. The practice of meditation is thousands of years old, and its ability to reduce stress in people who practice regularly is well-documented. Most experts recommend starting with a minimum daily goal of 5 minutes. There are also many meditation apps that can help you get started.  

Choosing the Right CBD Gummies for Stress

If you’re thinking about trying CBD for stress, it’s important to consider which product works best for you.

CBD Gummies vs. CBD Oil

CBD products come in many different formats, but two of the most popular are oil tinctures and gummies. Oil tinctures make it simple to take the exact dose of CBD or other cannabinoids you want, and many people find that taking it orally (holding it under their tongue for 45-60 seconds before swallowing) results in a quicker onset time than ingesting it. Other people, however, prefer gummies, which offer a less messy and more convenient (and travel-friendly!) way to take CBD. And CBD gummies from CBDistillery come in tasty fruit flavors made from 100% clean ingredients – no artificial colors or flavors!

Full Spectrum vs. Broad Spectrum vs. CBD Isolate

CBD gummies can also be made from full spectrum hemp extract, broad spectrum hemp extract, or CBD isolate. Full spectrum hemp extract is a full-plant extract containing naturally occurring CBD, as well as other minor cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids and less than 0.3% THC. Full spectrum CBD allows you to fully experience the Entourage Effect, the synergistic way that the different plant components in hemp have a greater effect when working together than they do individually. Broad spectrum hemp extract undergoes some processing that maintains the hemp plant’s CBD, minor cannabinoids and terpenes, but removes THC (though trace amounts less than 0.01% may remain). Isolate CBD undergoes additional processing to remove all other molecules, resulting in pure CBD that is THC-free.

Additional Ingredients that may help

Stress can show up in different ways, but for many people, it can make it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. Luckly, CBD has also been shown to aid sleep; once recent study found that participants taking CBD slept significantly more than participants who took a placebo.⁴ If racing thoughts keep you awake at night, sleep gummies with CBD could help – and ingredients like melatonin or CBN may be helpful as well. Melatonin is a hormone produced by your body to help regulate your circadian rhythm, frequently used by people seeking help falling asleep and staying asleep. Cannabinol (CBN) is a non-intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid known to promote healthy sleep. If you think one of these ingredients might help, consider a sleep gummythat includes melatonin or CBN with CBD.

How to Use CBD Gummies for Stress

When to Take Them (Consistency Matters!)

Most people feel the effects of their gummies one to two hours after taking a serving. If you’re taking CBD gummies before bed to help you unwind and sleep better, don’t forget to factor this timing in! Once the CBD gummies hit your system, the effects generally last for two to six hours, depending on your physiology and other factors.

It’s important to be consistent! In a November 2019 CBDistillery customer survey with 1,900 respondents, daily users reported finding CBD more effective (and feeling the benefits sooner) than people who used CBD only as needed. And taking your CBD gummy at the same time each day makes it easier to remember, so you’re less likely to skip a day by accident.

How Many to Take

The ideal dose of CBD varies greatly from person to person. Factors like body weight, metabolism and sex can all influence how strongly you feel the effects of CBD. That’s why it’s important to start low and go slow – we recommend starting with 10-30mg of CBD and seeing how your body responds before gradually increasing your dosage, if needed.

What the Research Says

Research into CBD is in its infancy, but studies are starting to show more information about how CBD helps with stress (along with its other benefits). One recent study looking at the effects of CBD oil tinctures found that the tinctures were highly effective in assisting with stress management.⁵ In a 2019 CBDistillery® survey of 1,900 customers, 89% of CBD users reported that CBD helps calm their minds! More relaxation and better sleep were also among the most-commonly-reported benefits felt by users within 7-14 days, as reported in the same survey.

When you choose CBDistillery® CBD gummies to support stress management, you can shop with confidence. Our products are rigorously tested, quality assured, and made with 100% clean ingredients. And when your to-do list already feels too long, check out our subscription program. Automatic refills make sure you never run out of your CBD favorites (without having to remember to reorder), plus you save 20-30% and get free shipping on every subscription order!

References

1. Chronic stress puts your health at risk (2023) Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037
2. How CBD Works: CBD and Neurotransmitters (2019) The CBD Insider.
3. Chen C. (2023) Inhibiting Degradation of 2-Arachidonoylglycerol as a Therapeutic Strategy for Neurodegenerative Diseases. 244 Pharmacol Ther. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016372582300058X 
4. E Carlini EA, Cunha JM. Hypnotic and antiepileptic effects of cannabidiol. J Clin Pharmacol. 1981 Aug-Sep;21(S1):417S-427S. doi: 10.1002/j.1552-4604.1981.tb02622.x. PMID: 7028792.
5. Faraj M, Dautrich T, Lundahl L, Marusak H. Effects of Two Cannabidiol Oil Products on Self-Reported Stress Relief: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Med Cannabis Cannabinoids. 2023 Nov 6;6(1):138-147. doi: 10.1159/000531886. PMID: 37942294; PMCID: PMC10629851.