Caffeine is present in most beverages, primarily in coffees and caffeine pills. But is it possible that the effects of caffeine are reduced by mixing CBD with coffee, or is it the other way around? Is it dangerous to mix CBD and caffeine? This article focuses on what happens when you mix CBD and caffeine and the possible health benefits reaped from it.
Many people consume coffee first thing in the morning in order to wake up, but others consume their coffee throughout the day. With the recent rise in CBD usage, many coffee drinkers are wondering about the effects of using CBD in combination with caffeine. Well, let’s find out!
Table of Contents
What is CBD?
Simply put, CBD is a compound found in the cannabis plant. However, it is different than the part that contains THC. THC is the psychoactive substance in the plant. CBD does not contain any psychoactive substances, but it does contain many of the health benefits that are derived from the cannabis plant. In fact, you can get more health benefits from CBD then you can from consuming the part of the marijuana plant that contains THC.
Of course, what this means is that many people are using CBD for a variety of health reasons. CBD has been shown in studies to treat depression and anxiety and has a number of other effects as well, including treating insomnia and even potentially slowing the growth of cancer cells. There is still a lot more research the needs to be done, but there is no doubt the CBD is one of the most effective tools in natural medicine today.
Caffeine and CBD
We find caffeine in lots of our beverages. In fact, most soda brands out there contain caffeine, our coffee contains caffeine, and there are even caffeine pills the can take to keep you awake when you have a long night of studying ahead. But are you negating the results of caffeine when you take CBD? Is it the other way around? Is it dangerous to mix CBD and caffeine together? That’s exactly what we’ll be exploring here.
The first thing that you have to understand is that caffeine is an upper and CBD is a downer. CBD is known as a natural relaxant and mild stimulant. It helps you to deal with anxiety and makes you feel more relaxed. On the other hand, caffeine juices you up and get you motivated, giving you energy and wakefulness to get through the day. So how can these two work together?
Effects Of Caffeine On The Body
First, let’s talk about the effects the caffeine has on the body. Caffeine has lots of antioxidants and is a stimulant. It will help you with focusing your attention and enhancing your cognitive abilities. It will also help you stave off sleep to a certain extent. When energy is low, caffeine can definitely give you a spike for a period of time.
There have been studies that show that coffee in particular is good for heart health and has cardiovascular benefits. In addition, coffee is supposed to help with aging, cell pollution, repairing cellular damage and even giving you the ability to burn fat better.
But what really happens with caffeine is that it blocks the adenosine receptors in our brains that normally would cause us to feel sleepiness. Adenosine is a chemical that widens the blood vessels and steadies the heartbeat. We release the most adenosine late in the night and early in the morning. That’s why most people are prone to drinking coffee early in the morning because those adenosine levels are high.
Effects Of CBD on the Body
On the other hand, CBD is known for calming and relaxing the body and mind. It is a natural remedy that helps to combat stress and anxiety, and has even been shown in research studies to treat depression, anxiety and panic disorders. In addition, it can help to treat pain, insomnia and has other benefits as well. Most of the mechanism by which this works is by its anti-inflammatory properties.
However, how CBD actually works in the body is a little more complex. The cannabinoid receptors are located in the same region of the brain that the adenosine receptors are. CBD can actually lower adenosine levels which cause us to feel more relaxed and reduce anxiety. So, while caffeine actually helps to reduce adenosine levels, CBD is trying to get the body to create more adenosine.
That leads to the question whether or not these two simply cancel each other out. They definitely both have things in common. They help to reduce free radicals, get help to repair cell damage and have components that change your mood. In addition, they help to boost serotonin levels.
But according to researchers, these two work very differently. Adenosine works with the central nervous system as a sedative while CBD interacts with the adenosine receptors. Caffeine blocks the adenosine receptors and CBD tries to delay the uptake of adenosine by the neurons.
But what many do not take into consideration is that the right amount of CBD can actually act as a stimulant rather than as a depressant. There is a window of opportunity for CBD to act as a stimulant. How much exactly will be required depends upon how much caffeine you are drinking, your own body chemistry and various other factors. That means that instead of these two working as opposing forces, they actually work together to help you become more focused, more wide-awake and still has the effect of treating anxiety and depression.
So, adding CBD to your coffee may actually create a completely different effect than what you were expecting as long as you use the right does. One of those effects is the reduction of coffee jitters symptoms. Caffeine has a number of effects on the body including nausea, restlessness, insomnia, gastrointestinal issues and more. But CBD may actually combat these symptoms.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that you can mix CBD and caffeine if you do it correctly. At the end of that day, it will come down to trial and error. While some may not like it, others clearly do. The results may be better than you expected, but if you do it incorrectly then you are basically going to cancel each component out. Still, the window to get the right dose of CBD is quite large.
