LIFESTYLE
Need a gym buddy for National Fitness Day?
Today is National Fitness Day, where all ages take part in dance-offs, mass walks, treadmill challenges, cardio classes and much more to highlight to importance of physical fitness
But did you know that CBD could help you go that extra mile?
Sativa strains are associated with a natural energy boost, which may help make National Fitness Day a breeze.
As well as soothing sore muscles and relaxing and relieving stiff joints, researchers have discovered there is a correlation between cannabidiol consumption and motivation levels.
Authors from a University of Maryland School of Medicine study said:
“A review of the findings suggests that CBD may attenuate motivational dysfunction through activation of the 5-HT1A receptor and elevations in eCB tone”
This indicates that CBD weakened the dysfunction of motivation and increased the drive for a certain goal in test subjects.
The results were replicated in a study using mice which analysed how cannabinoid receptors in the body impacted their attitudes towards running and eating chocolate.
The team ‘knocked out’ CB1 receptors in one group of mice and compared them against another group who still had them intact.
They found that although both groups wanted the chocolate, those with CB1 receptors worked 80 percent harder to experience a euphoric ‘runners high’.
They similarly discovered that cannabinoid receptors may impact motivational levels.
The researchers explained:
“In addition to these findings indicating that the cannabinoid receptor is essential for the motivation for exercise, this study opens up avenues for researching the neurobiological mechanisms being pathological increases in this motivation”
CBD could be the factor in conquering that cardio. As it stimulates receptors along the endocannabinoid system, CBD can have positive effects on mood, energy levels and homeostasis.
So, it seems that kitting out your gym bag with CBD-infused water or protein powder on National Fitness Day could give you the extra endurance, hydration and motivation needed to get you fighting fit.
