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Since the start of the CBD boom, people have been asking how hemp CBD oil can be used for anxiety and relaxation. Anxiety is a huge problem, approximately 8 million people in the UK have some form of an anxiety disorder. According to the Centre for Medical Cannabis, 6 million people in the UK have tried CBD. It doesn’t surprise us that these numbers are so similar, our customers are always coming to us talking about what helps them relax and how our CBD helps relieve their anxiety.
Of course, to anyone familiar with buying CBD in the UK, you’ll know that these products can’t yet be sold while making medical claims. This means that we can’t explicitly say that any one of our products is the cure to stress. However, we can discuss the trends we see among our large base of CBD users.
How Does CBD Relax Us?
To understand how to use CBD to unwind and declutter, we must briefly explain what CBD does when it enters our body. The moment CBD is ingested, it will begin to interact with our “endocannabinoid system”, which is a network of CB1 and CB2 receptors. CB1 receptors are mostly found in the brain, CB2 receptors are mostly located in parts of the body beneath the neck.
CBD is a partial CB2 agonist, and a CB1 antagonist. This means that it mostly acts on the receptors beneath our necks, and interestingly reduces stimulation of the receptors in our brain. This lack of overstimulation of CB1 receptors in the brain could explain why it is that so many people find CBD to help when they are trying to unwind.
Now that we understand the basics of CBD, let’s take a closer look at 5 different ways we know our customers use to consume CBD when they are stressed and trying to relax.
Vape CBD Hemp Flower & Hash
CBD hemp flowers are arguably the most popular product that we sell to people in a state of stress. We believe that this is due to the intense potency of CBD hemp flowers and hash. Unlike refined and processed products, CBD hemp flowers and hash contain many of cannabis’s minor compounds. It is believed that in order to enhance the potency of cannabis, the presence of these minor compounds is essential.
Minor cannabis compounds are things like terpenes, flavonoids, minor cannabinoids etc. Terpenes are particularly important because they can influence the effect of cannabis, swaying it from energy to chill.
We suggest vaping CBD hemp flower and hash rather than smoking them because in a state of anxiety or stress, it’s important to reduce overall inflammation in the body. It has been observed that there is a causal relationship between inflammation and stress. Combusting or smoking cannabis released carcinogens and irritates the respiratory system, potentially aggravating stress levels.
Strains with chill descriptions would be most ideal for people looking to take a break from stress and unwind at night. Our PM Bundle is very much named for people looking for out top evening strains.
Dabbing CBD Extracts And Concentrates
Dabbing CBD is the simple process of heating up solid/liquid CBD concentrates and inhaling their vapour. If you’d like to take a deeper look into the actual process of a dab, check out our “What Is Dabbing” guide.
CBD concentrates are products like our CBD Wax, CBD Shatter and CBD Diamonds & Sauce. Cannabis is refined down to its purest forms, so that plant material is stripped from potent cannabinoids. Often hemp strains produce 8-13% CBD, however, once refined and concentrated, the resulting product can test anywhere from 80-99% CBD purity.
Many people find that the best way to unwind with CBD is to consume large quantities. This has been studied by scientists, who discovered that with a dose of 160mg CBD + nitrazepam, duration of sleep could be increased. 160mg of CBD is very difficult to consume in raw flower form, both because of the volume of flower required, and also the uncertainty of bioavailability.
By using a cannabis concentrate, a much smaller volume of product would be needed to absorb 160mg of CBD.
Further to that, cannabis concentrates are often infused with cannabis terpenes to increase the presence of the Entourage Effect. Some terpenes are known to offer benefits more suited for sleep and stress, such as myrcene.
Here’s a list of CBD waxes with relaxing terpene profiles:
CBD Gummies And CBD Edibles
CBD gummies are one of the most popular ways to take CBD in the UK. Legal states saw a huge interest in edibles in 2020, with 84% of candy ingestible sales made up of infused gummies! CBD Gummies are a great way for people that don’t enjoy the taste or the routine of traditional cannabis.
CBD gummies are made simply by mixing cannabis concentrates, usually CBD distillate, with the rest of the candy ingredients. They can be eaten in one bite, or split up into several doses to consume throughout the day.
One of the biggest differences between using CBD gummies and CBD vapes is the time taken for CBD to be absorbed. CBD gummies will take a long time to absorb - they could even take hours and the effects can last 6-8 hours longer than those of smoking or vaping.
Cbd gummies and CBD edibles are very convenient and seem like a no-brainer - however there is a problem with consistency.
Our bodies are unable to break down and digest gummies the same way every time we eat them. This is due to an always changing process within us called First Pass Metabolism (Effect). The First Pass Effect is the phenomenon in which a drug gets metabolized at a specific location in the body that results in a reduced concentration of the active drug upon reaching its site of action. Whilst this doesn’t make edibles redundant, it makes it very difficult to maintain a consistent dose if CBD is something you need regularly. For this reason, we favor inhaling our CBD, skippin the First Pass Effect and fully absorbing all cannabis compounds.
CBD Dab Pens & CBD Vape
CBD dab pens are disposable specialized vaporisers filled with cannabis distillate and cannabis terpenes. Cannabis distillate is similar to CBD concentrates we mentioned above, in which cannabis is refined into a liquid concentration that can be vaporized. The only difference is that CBD dab pens are a lot simpler to use than CBD concentrates, as the dabbing process is completely replaced by an automated dab pen.
This is a great way to take large doses of CBD anytime anyplace. Whilst the effects are similar to the traditional dab, it’s not feasible to consume a traditional dab spontaneously when dealing with stress or sleep issues. They also emit very little odor, something many of us have to watch out for due to strict employers or backwards laws.
Similar to cannabis concentrates, CBD dab pens are mixed with terpenes to increase the Entourage Effect and help steer the effects.
This is a list of our favorite relaxing CBD dab pen profiles:
CBD Patch For 4 Days Absorption
The CBD Patch is the ultimate solution for someone looking to sustain constant CBD absorption over 4 days. CBD patches intravenously administer CBD directly through the skin beneath them, and slowly release 50mg over 4 days. Interestingly, we have observed significantly more profound effects with 50mg patches over 4 days than consuming much larger doses of oil. Scientists are investigating why people are observing phenomena such as that. Our belief is that by bypassing the First Pass Effect, in which much of the CBD would be lost, the patches excel in their efficiency of absorption.
Medical studies have been looking at the effectiveness of cannabis patches for pain and inflammtion treatment with positive results. We already know that there is a relationship between inflammation and anxiety/stress. Perhaps there are additional benefits from the potential for patches to reduce inflammation that could help those that struggle with sleep.
If you find it difficult to maintain a daily CBD regime and prefer something you only need to think about every 4 days, the patch could be the best option for you.
Summary
There is enough scientific evidence out there to read about the effects of CBD on sleep and stress/anxiety endlessly. Choosing the right CBD product is equally as time consuming. Beyond vetting the quality of what you’re considering, what’s most important is being able to maintain that CBD routine. If you’re very good at sticking to a daily schedule and want to increase your bioavailability, CBD flower and hash could be best. If you prefer the act of vaping and know you won’t forget to carry your device at all times, a dab pen could be best. All options are good as long as they can be sustained over time.
We’re always keen to hear how our CBD community uses cannabis, and for what reasons. If you have anything interesting to share, please don’t hesitate to comment below!
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