CBD for Muscle Recovery
Consuming anything relating to marijuana to help muscles recover might sound crazy. However, many athletes across the world use marijuana products to aid their recovery process. This is especially important when the muscle recovery process is looking at in depth.
This article will first go over why the muscles need to recover and then analyze the benefits of using cannabidiol (CBD) to help with the muscle recovery process. [This post contains affiliate links]
How muscle recovery works
After a tough and grueling workout, you might have some soreness, nausea, and general fatigue. This is all perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. When you exercise at the gym or do any kind of physical activity, your muscles get damaged and torn. They do not get severely damaged or torn, hopefully, but they do get small micro tears. These micro tears are what cause the soreness you may feel for a few hours, or even days, after working out.
The muscles then recover stronger and bigger than before the workout. The recovery process may take a few days. During those days after the workout, many people experience soreness, hunger, and insomnia. All of which may be detrimental to your quality of life. Insomnia also may interfere with muscle recovery as most muscle recovery occurs during deep sleep.
Overall, CBD can help alleviate the symptoms experienced during muscle recovery and even aid in the process of muscle recovery.
CBD helps the muscle recovery process
CBD can help alleviate the symptoms associated with muscle recovery. It works particularly well for nausea and soreness.
Keep in mind, CBD is not the same as your typical marijuana joint or blunt. Products manufactured and sold as CBD have no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), so they have no psychoactive effects. This works well for reaping the benefits of exercise without the negatives of losing mental clarity gained from exercise.
CBD helps the process in a few different ways. First, it has anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is the most noticeable, and negative, side effect of the muscle recovery process. It can be extremely painful and can even make moving around difficult, so solving this symptom is important.
The anti-inflammatory properties of CBD are caused by increasing the amount of adenosine in the body and activating the endocannabinoid system. Researchers have discovered that increased adenosine and an activated endocannabinoid system both reduce inflammation.
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Next, consuming CBD will increase your appetite. Eating more food is especially important for your muscles to recover fully. Muscle recovery alone will cause some hunger, but most people still do not eat enough food to allow their muscles to recover fully.
Finally, CBD can help you fall asleep faster. It might sound counterintuitive that muscle recovery would make sleep more difficult. You would think that the extra work would make the body more exhausted, but it usually causes the body to not shut down for sleep. Many athletes have had sleepless nights after a long and grueling workout.
Getting enough hours of sleep is very important for the sleep recovery process. Some say it is the single most important part of muscle recovery. Unfortunately, muscle recovery itself may cause insomnia because the body is still actively recovering, which makes sleeping difficult.
CBD helps with all the worst side effects of muscle recovery. It even makes the muscle recovery process easier and more efficient. This makes choosing CBD one of the best muscle recovery tools you can choose.
How to consume CBD for muscle recovery
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The best way to consume CBD to maximize the recovery benefits is to eat an edible of some form. Edibles will take longer before you feel the effects, but the effects of the edible will last longer. Normally you can expect the effects of an edible within 90 minutes.
You should, therefore, consume the edible before your workout or during your workout. This ensures it will take effect immediately after the workout has ended. Though the effects occurring during the workout are not bad since CBD has no psychoactive effects.
Alternatively, some athletes will inhale CBD immediately after their workout because it takes effect immediately when consumed by inhalation. The downside is that inhalation of any smoke or vapor can cause irritation to the throat if done too frequently. For that reason, athletes will often inhale one draw of CBD and then eat an edible. This provides immediate relief while waiting for the full effects of the edible.
Final Thoughts on CBD for Muscle Recovery
All in all, CBD is a great way to help the muscle recovery process. This is because it will reduce swelling, increase your appetite, and help with sleep. All these are important for the muscle recovery process.
However, the biggest benefit of CBD is that it has zero negative side effects and is 100% natural. This makes it much better than the pharmaceutical alternatives for swelling/inflammation (aspirin) and sleep (sleeping pills). Those have a high risk of dependency and can easily be overdosed if not careful.
The best way to consume CBD varies depending on your muscle recovery needs. If you are an athlete that cannot afford to risk any respiratory issues, then consuming an edible version of CBD is ideal. The CBD gummies from Sunday Scaries make an excellent choice because they taste excellent. Remember, edibles take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes to take effect.
The effects of edibles can last a long time. Anywhere from 8 to 24 hours is normal. The time just depends on the person as every person is different. Do not think they are ineffective if the effects do not work instantly.
If you prefer inhaling, then you can inhale the CBD too. However, you will constantly need to inhale the CBD, and this can have respiratory issues. Inhaling once or twice for the immediate effect of CBD and then taking an edible is the next safest option. It provides instant relief while waiting for 30 to 90 minutes for the effects from the edible to take effect.
This article by Madeleine Taylor is originally published at SundayScaries.
During your workout, your muscles get damaged and torn. You might have soreness, nausea, and fatigue afterward. How can CBD help with muscle recovery?
During your workout, your muscles get damaged and torn. You might have soreness, nausea, and fatigue afterward. How can CBD help with muscle recovery?