CBD has become increasingly popular with athletes at all levels due to its natural healing properties. Professional athletes and amateurs alike are using the cannabis-derived compound to decrease recovery times, getting back on the field or in the gym faster, leading to improvements in performance.
In this article, we’ll discuss how CBD can overcome competitive sports' physical and mental demands. You’ll also learn the best approach to improving recovery times using various proven CBD administration methods.
Why Athletes are Using CBD
The rise in CBD use among athletes is due to legalization, access, and results. Before the cannabinoid hemp boom, it was taboo to use CBD products, and even could lead to a suspension in collegiate and professional sports. However, it would be hard to go to your local gym without finding a CBD topical in at least one person’s bag.
While many famous athletes publicly endorse CBD, including superstars Bubba Watson, Rob Gronkowski, and Megan Raperpor, many athletes still don’t understand the extent of CBD’s potential. While combating sore muscles after an intense workout is an obvious well-known benefit, CBD has the ability to improve the recovery process and increase performance in various ways beyond tackling pain.
Below, we cover the four primary benefits of CBD for athletes.
CBD and Pain
Athletes are accustomed to dealing with pain, whether it's from injury or soreness. While fighting through a straightened quad or playing with tendonitis is just another day for Naomi Osaka, you’re much less likely to play injured for a rec pickleball game.
Using CBD for pain is the number one use for the cannabis-derived compound, according to a Gallup Poll conducted on adults over 65, a population segment that, like athletes, is prone to chronic pain. CBD alleviates pain through a close relationship with our endocannabinoid system. This group of neurotransmitters and receptors regulates various responses, including pain.
Regulate Inflammation with CBD
Pain and inflammation go hand in hand. When you twist your ankle skiing, it swells up to the point where you can’t even fit in your boot, let alone get down the hill. Inflammation is part of the healing process, but sometimes it's an overreaction and excessive response that prevents us from competing or just going about our everyday lives. According to an article published in the NIH Library by Frontier in Pharmacology, CBD can help athletes by reducing the naturally occurring substances that increase inflammation, like cytokines and cortisol.
Using CBD for Performance Anxiety
One of the lesser-understood benefits for athletes using CBD is mitigating stress. With competition comes anxiety, loss, and tension. When there’s a lot on the line, these emotions can cause the body to go into over-reaction mode, just like after a physical injury. Thankfully, the ECS also regulates psychological responses such as fear, anxiety, and stress.
Improving Sleep with CBD
As an athlete, taking care of your body is a top priority. But without a solid sleep schedule, this is impossible, and if you are injured, your body needs even more rest to recover.
While we are just beginning to understand how CBD affects sleep quality and duration, we have indirect evidence that points to CBD being a beneficial sleep aid. The ECS’s ability to regulate reactions to pain, anxiety, and stress are all significant barriers to getting quality sleep. We also have studies that have found improvements in sleep among large sample sizes; the most effective was conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado. This study targeted patients with anxiety and sleep issues, monitoring daily CBD use and conducting interviews each month. 79.2% of the patients reported decreases in anxiety scores, and 66.7% reported increased sleep scores.
Recovery Leads to Performance
While CBD won’t directly add velocity to your serve, straighten out your drive, or increase your bench max, there’s substantial evidence that it decreases recovery time. Fighting inflammation, reducing soreness, limiting stress, and getting better sleep all lead to improved performance. When these barriers that keep you from competing or training are limited are lifted altogether, you have more time to do what you love and less time on the sidelines.
When CBD Makes Sense
Taking high doses of CBD before an intense workout may not be the best move if cannabidiol makes you drowsy. To experience the benefits of CBD, athletes must be strategic.
After physically demanding activity, the best option is to use a CBD topical. You’ll get instant relief and can target sore or strained areas directly. We also recommend a proactive approach to ensure your ECS gets enough activity to help regulate overreactions to injuries or stress. For daily use, we suggest a CBD oil used sublingually. Finally, to ensure proper rest to reduce recovery times, a sleep-specific product like sleep support gummies is your best bet. These products combine CBD with other natural sleep aids like melatonin to increase benefits.
If you’d like more information on what CBD products fit your active lifestyle, don’t hesitate to reach out; we’d love to hear from you!
