CBD and Mental Health: Why Your Brain Loves This Powerful Plant Cannabinoid

Plant medicine has long been a part of human history. In more recent traditions, as in the last 5,000 years, some of the most well known alternative medical systems include Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda.

Both of these systems utilize plants in various healing protocols. And many indigenous populations throughout the world rely on plants for their sole form of medication.

As you can see, incorporating plants, like cannabis (i.e. hemp), into a person’s everyday wellness routine is not a new concept. It’s only becoming more common in Western countries today, because of legal reform and societal acceptance of “plants as medicine.”

In this article, we’ll focus on the botanical, hemp. And we’ll talk about the impact hemp-derived CBD has on our brain and the state of our mental health. 

What does CBD do to your brain?

To answer this question we need to back it up a few steps. A few decades ago, in the 1990s, researchers made a landmark discovery when they identified the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). This system is a collection of enzymes, receptors, and two endocannabinoids called anandamide and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG).

We’re going to hone in on the receptors component of the ECS, which are classified as CB1 and CB2. Scientists identified these receptors throughout the body. But found a large concentration of CB1 receptors in the central nervous system — the brain and spinal cord. And a large number of CB2 receptors live within the immune system.

So, when we supplement with cannabis-based products, like hemp-derived CBD oil, we directly influence these receptors. Given their important locations, the brain, spinal cord (nerves), and immune system, you can see why CBD has a valuable part in our “health equation”.

Furthermore, research from 2019 shows that “the CB1 network has particularly large implications for human behavior, because of its role in mediating our reward system (thus our motivation, and ultimately our actions).” Here’s where we get back to answering our original question. Our reward system has a lot to do with mental health issues like PTSD, the different types of anxiety disorders, among others.

So, if there’s a deficiency, so to speak with our CB1 (receptor) network, this could impact the state of our mental wellbeing. One way to ‘tilt the scales’ is to increase the amount of CBD and other cannabis-based products we consume.

From my personal experience of taking CBD, I’ve felt noticeable differences in my anxiety levels. Although a big supporter of all cannabis plants (THC strains included), I love that I can take oil or have a yummy flavored CBD gummy and still get my work done. Without the desire to take a 3-hour nap.

Can CBD calm my anxious thoughts?

For now, personal testimonies are the only ‘approved’ way to address this question. Although the science on CBD grows each day, and some studies already address whether cannabidiol has anxiolytic effects, the FDA doesn’t allow us (or any CBD company) to make health-related claims. 

Until that changes, here are some testimonials from customers who purchased our Hemp Health One CBD products.

Key takeaways

From what we’ve experienced, what our customers have said, and what the science reveals — we have no doubt that CBD belongs in our medicine cabinets.

We’re not claiming it works miracles because nothing does. But it’s more than evident that we have an entire system in our bodies, the ECS, that depends on cannabinoids like CBD for its optimal function.

If we ignore this vital system, that regulates mood, sleep, memory, our pain response, and more, how can we expect to feel good? Better yet, how can we ever expect to feel amazing?