Nearly two adults choose hypnotic, say CBD oil
Among insomniacs who take hypnotics, US statistics show that 20 percent use marijuana or CBD oil. Is CBD oil really a good choice for insomnia and anxiety?
According to a survey published by the American Sleep Association, of the nearly two-thirds of insomniacs who take hypnotics, 23 percent use prescription drugs, 27 percent use melatonin, and 20 percent use marijuana or CBD.
Although “we just don’t know enough about CBD oil”, it can’t resist more and more people’s attention to CBD oil.
What is CBD oil?
CBD is cannabidiol, a major component of marijuana.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another important component of marijuana. THC is addictive, and long-term use can produce neurotoxic effects, leading to lasting cognitive deficits. Compared to THC, CBD is not addictive or hallucinogenic.
Does CBD Oil Work for anxiety or insomnia?
From the perspective of physiological mechanism, CBD oil treatment of insomnia and anxiety has certain theoretical support.
There is a network of endocannabinoid receptors in the human body. Endocannabinoids control fat and glucose metabolism and can affect the brain-gut axis, allowing the body to adapt to changing environments such as fear, anxiety and stress.
Disorders of endocannabinoids can lead to mental illness. Dysregulation of endocannabinoids has been observed in many diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. CBD can bind to cannabinoid CB1 receptors to regulate a variety of physiological and psychological processes.
However, from clinical trials, there is no evidence to support CBD oil for insomnia and anxiety. This is also similar to most health products or dietary supplements.
Studies published in 2019 and 2020 in the Lancet Psychiatry journal all pointed to a lack of evidence that cannabinoids improve symptoms of depression and insomnia, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or psychosis. There is very low quality evidence that the drug THC (with or without CBD) leads to a slight improvement in anxiety symptoms in people with other conditions.
Only 24 percent of trials involving CBD came from human studies. In studies involving humans, the most common conditions are neurological disorders and mental health or psychological disorders. And 62 percent of the studies involving humans had authors affiliated with or receiving funding from the CBD industry.
Is CBD oil a safe choice?
Compared to THC, CBD is not addictive. CBD oil is not a controlled substance at home or abroad.
In foreign countries, many athletes will choose to use CBD oil to help promote sleep and restore physical strength.
A recent study from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in the US concluded that “when you buy CBD products, you may get some excess.”
The above study analyzed Epidiolex. Epidiolex is the only CBD product currently on the market with FDA approval in the United States. Epidiolex is used to help control seizures and its manufacture is tightly regulated. The analysis found that Epidiolex contained almost undetectable levels of THC. Epidiolex contains 0.022mg of THC per milliliter.
The study also conducted nine analyses of 80 mainstream CBD products on the market to determine whether they contained any THC.
The study found that 52 out of 80 CBD products contained some amount of THC. All but five of these products had higher THC levels than those found in Epidiolex. THC was detected in 5 out of 21 CBD products labeled as free of THC.
If a person has no tolerance for THC. Over time, these trace amounts build up in a person’s fat cells, which in turn can have an impact on human health.
Of the 80 CBD products, 11 had a THC concentration of more than 1 mg/ml, and one product had a THC concentration of more than 2 mg/ml. This dose can cause intoxication in some people, especially if they have not been exposed to marijuana before.
Of the 80 CBD products tested, 30% did not contain THC. This seems to indicate that choosing these brands of CBD products is reliable. But health care products are different from drugs. The content of ingredients in different batches of the same brand, even under the same batch, may not be consistent.
The treatment of insomnia and anxiety by CBD still needs more clinical evidence support.
