The big question: Does CBD really have the potential to improve an athlete’s performance? Sites such as TheCBDGuru.org have been talking about this for a while now, and The Sports Economist has also gotten interested in this.
This issue is still a bit controversial, even in 2020. We are going to take a look at our best empirical data in this article. And we are going to try to come to the most accurate conclusion possible given our current tools.
In short, the answer is, as far as we can best see it, is that CBD doesn’t directly affect performance, but definitely does tend to indirectly improve it, in many ways.
CBD And Recovery
Recovery is a tricky subject. The jury as far a science is concerned is still out as to whether saunas help with recovery or not, for example. The NFL swears by it, as do most professional MMA fighters etc.
Likewise, many top athletes are glowingly endorsing CBD-based products as being amazing recovery aids. The evidence is still inconclusive as of the date of this writing.
The real question is whether these athletes are acting of their own accord or whether they are being de-facto sponsored. We feel that in most cases these athletes are genuine fans of these products; in many instances there is obviously no sponsorship going on whatsoever. So, The Sports Economist is going to weigh in on the side of CBD having potential benefits with recovery.
CBD As an Anti-Inflammatory
This one is probably related to the above topic. Inflammation is of course a necessary bodily response to the breakdown of tissue that naturally occurs during training, among other things. However, too much inflammation is also clearly very bad for your health. CBD is great at helping your body maintain the proper balance, instead of just shutting down the inflammatory process too much.
Athletes up until now have been taking a lot of ibuprofen or similar drugs to combat inflammation. This acts very well, but the problem is that ibuprofen and similar drugs (acetaminophen, naproxen etc.) have been proven to have some pretty bad side effects. This is especially true over the long term, where kidney problems can become an issue (this is compounded by the fact that a lot of naïve athletes and potential athletes
CBD As a Sleep Aid
People often vastly underestimate the value of a good night’s sleep. CBD can definitely help with that. This is actually one of the main reasons people the world over take CBD regularly.
CBD helps you go to sleep more quickly, helps prevent waking up in the middle of your sleep cycle, and deepens the quality of your sleep. All three things are even more important for people who are athletes.
It’s no secret that the difference between getting proper sleep or getting even an hour less than the desired amount of sleep can lead to significant differences in physical and mental abilities. In today’s day and age, people have a harder time getting to sleep than ever in many cases. Many athletes would and/or do welcome CBD as a means to counteract that.
