Fantasy Football

5 Ways CBD Works For Athletes

5 Ways CBD Works For Athletes

CBD is consumed in many forms by people all over the world, as has become something of a recent craze here in the US. Following the passage of the Farm Bill in 2018, hemp, and thus, CBD was made legal at the federal level. 

This opened the door to a market that had been struggling to gain a foothold during pre-legislation and caused a boom that nobody expected. 

In 2019, when the Farm Bill went into effect, CBD sales surpassed one billion dollars, and experts expect the industry to continue to grow exponentially through at least 2024. The demand for CBD products goes well beyond everyday household needs, however, and has spilled into athletics as well. 

CBD oil retailers like Penguin CBD produce high-quality oils that offer many benefits to amateur and professional athletes. Here, we’ll cover five of these benefits in detail. Keep reading to learn more about how CBD can potentially help athletic performance. 

1. Increased Focus 

Focus is the heart of athletics. When your body wants to quit at the ten-yard line, focus, which is the child of discipline, pushes you forward and keeps you tunnel-visioned on your goal. An increase in focus can help ensure that you’re able to keep your goals in mind and make that final push when it really counts. 

CBD can offer an increase in focus and has even been tested with ADHD patients, to great success. An athlete who gets distracted by self-doubt, the environment, or stress, can take CBD to help realign his or her mind with goals and stay focused on them during practice or games. 

Discipline requires focus, and focus requires discipline, so without one, you can’t have the other. Using CBD oil before your practice can help you regain the focus you’ve lost and keep your eye on the prize. 

CBD doesn’t get you high or produce any similar effects, so you won’t have to worry about failing a drug test. CBD isn’t a drug, but rather a naturally-occurring compound extracted from hemp. 

2. Reduced Blood Pressure 

CBD has been shown to successfully reduce blood pressure and dilate blood vessels for healthier blood flow. Since your muscles depend on the precious oxygen that your blood carries in it, healthier blood flow is definitely something an athlete can benefit from. 

High blood pressure is actually quite common in the US, with heart disease being among the top killers of US adults. This is usually caused by a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet. 

While an athlete is likely eating well and is staying active, that doesn’t make them immune to high blood pressure or potential heart disease. In fact, the American Heart Association claims that about 1 in 3 adults has high blood pressure. 

Combining CBD with your athletic activity and good eating habits can improve your overall heart health by keeping blood flowing freely, keeping your blood vessels dilated so they can deliver oxygen-rich red blood cells to muscle groups, and even help reduce stress (which also contributes to high blood pressure). 

3. Anti-Inflammatory

Do you know why your muscles are so sore after a workout? It’s because when you work specific muscles intensely, you’re actually causing micro-tears in the muscle fibers, and once you’ve finished, your body starts the slow repair process. 

Tearing muscle fibers causes inflammation, which is what causes your pain and soreness. You can use a foam roller all you want, but the muscles don’t usually stop hurting until they’ve healed. Sometimes, you just need a little something extra to alleviate the pain. 

CBD is an anti-inflammatory and can aid in pain relief as well. It binds to specific receptors to minimize the body’s immune response to things like torn muscles, thus, lessening the inflammation and pain associated with it. 

CBD can be taken via oils, capsules, or gummies, and digested. Or, you can apply CBD-infused topicals directly to affected muscle groups for localized pain relief. 

4. Reduce Stress

Athletes are no stranger to stress. The pressure to win, to perform well, and to be part of a working team can be stressful in itself, not to mention the actual workouts themselves. You’re always striving to go further, lift more, and be a little faster than before. 

Don’t let the stress overwhelm you or push you toward unsavory habits in order to manage it better. CBD is a safe and effective way to manage stress and keep it from becoming too much. You’ll feel more focused and less anxious, not to mention, stress affects the heart (as we mentioned earlier). 

5. Better Sleep

What’s the one thing that all experts, doctors, and professional athletes agree on? Better sleep improves physical activity, energy, and mental clarity. The higher your sleep quality is, the better you’ll perform! If you’re struggling to get to sleep, the first thing you need to do is set a sleep schedule you’ll stick to. 

Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Once you’ve adjusted to that, you can introduce CBD into your sleep regimen to help you stay asleep. CBD helps calm anxiety and improve the quality of your sleep overall. You’ll also be able to fall asleep easier! 

As with post-workout applications, you can take CBD in capsule, gummy, or apply it directly to the skin. Some CBD providers even offer CBD gummies or capsules infused with CBD and melatonin for the best sleep you’ve ever gotten! 

Don’t underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep. Both your muscles and brain need rest to recharge and recover, especially if you’ve had an intense workout that day. Get better sleep, and you’ll notice a significant difference in how you perform. 

Conclusion 

CBD is an excellent natural compound that athletes can use for better sleep, recovery from workouts, and more. Our bodies contain specific receptors for cannabinoids, so it’s pretty much designed to accept cannabidiol. In combination with a healthy diet and exercise patterns, CBD can even help improve heart health and reduce blood pressure!

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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