Stress and Sleep
What’s one thing we all want more of and less of the other?! More sleep, less stress. Trust me, I get that.
If we discuss reasons for always being tired and having no lack of energy, topics such as chronic stress, lack of sleep, and over stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system come up. Truth be told, cannabinoids such as CBD and THC may be just what you are looking for, check this out...
Chronic stress and lack of sleep go hand in hand. A stressful response is key to our survival. When we are in a life-or-death situation (like a bear chasing us), we engage our sympathetic nervous system, and our body undergoes a few changes to ensure our survival. These changes involve the dumping of cortisol to raise our blood sugar levels (an instant source of energy) and shunting blood to the muscles (so we can get the heck out of dodge). Although cortisol release here is a good thing, chronic cortisol release from stress is very destructive...
When we are stressed day in and day out, cortisol is released, keeping our blood sugar higher than it should be. When high blood sugar remains in our circulatory system from chronic release of cortisol from our adrenals, it can damage other organs and tissues in our body.
This is another reason why I love cannabinoids such as CBD because CBD was shown to disengage the fight-or-flight system, engage the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest system), and inhibit cortisol release from the adrenals, all while lowering stress (2,3). Talk about a win for the people! We want to stay in the rest and digest state (the parasympathetic nervous system) as much as possible! Less stress = happier, longer life!
Now, let’s talk about chronic stress and the impact it can have on sleep. Chronic stress was shown to engage the sympathetic nervous system, which causes our sleeping routine to be jacked. This means that when we are stressed, excessive cortisol release can cause us to get interrupted or little to no sleep at all and we end up tossing and turning in bed all night. When we go through a long period of stress certain changes take place in the body, eventually leading us to what is known as metabolic syndrome (4). Metabolic syndrome includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol & triglyceride levels, high blood sugar, & obesity (5). Could it be that chronic stress and lack of sleep is contributing to our ill will? If you are stressed and not getting any sleep, we want to help!
The good news is that studies show that CBD and THC were both shown to help those that suffer with insomnia, which is a huge win for those that don’t get a restful night’s sleep (6). It is vital for our health to get uninterrupted sleep!
What I really enjoy is helping to show others how to use this amazing plant to improve how we live, that means dealing with stress and improving sleep patterns. What I love most about this plant is that it has a better side effect profile vs conventional medicine (7). This means that we can use something safe and effective to improve our quality of life.
I mean, isn’t that our goal in medicine?
One amazing plant, naturally.
Bee Well,
Brandon Farless
*This information is for education purposes only. No medical advice or claims are being made, but people deserve to know what’s being published in the medical world. Education is empowering.
References
1. Won, E., & Kim, Y. K. (2016). Stress, the Autonomic Nervous System, and the Immune-kynurenine Pathway in the Etiology of Depression. Current neuropharmacology, 14(7), 665–673. https://doi.org/10.
2. Zuardi, A. W., Guimarães, F. S., & Moreira, A. C. (1993). Effect of cannabidiol on plasma prolactin, growth hormone and cortisol in human volunteers. Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas, 26(2), 213–217.
3. Blessing, E. M., Steenkamp, M. M., Manzanares, J., & Marmar, C. R. (2015). Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders. Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, 12(4), 825–836. https://doi.org/10.
4. Hirotsu, C., Tufik, S., & Andersen, M. L. (2015). Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions. Sleep science (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 8(3), 143–152. https://doi.org/10.
5. https://www.mayoclinic.
6. Ranum, R. M., Whipple, M. O., Croghan, I., Bauer, B., Toussaint, L. L., & Vincent, A. (2023). Use of Cannabidiol in the Management of Insomnia: A Systematic Review. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 8(2), 213–229. https://doi.org/10.
7. Iffland, K., & Grotenhermen, F. (2017). An Update on Safety and Side Effects of Cannabidiol: A Review of Clinical Data and Relevant Animal Studies. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 2(1), 139–154. https://doi.org/10.
