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Does CBD ever cause brain fog?
If you’re concerned that CBD may cause brain fog, here’s what you need to know before you incorporate CBD into your daily routine.
Many people who incorporate CBD into their lifestyles feel that it supports them on many fronts. You’ve likely heard people rave about CBD for sleep support and workout recovery — but does CBD have side effects like brain fog?
If you’re concerned that CBD may cause or contribute to brain fog, it helps to understand the way CBD interacts with your brain and body and the type of support you can expect to experience with daily CBD use.
What is brain fog?
Brain fog is a casual term used to describe feelings of absentmindedness and a lack of focus or mental clarity. You might feel brain fog when you haven't been sleeping well or when you're overwhelmed. This type of mental fatigue usually resolves itself after a good night's sleep.
How does the endocannabinoid system work?
The human body is equipped to produce and use cannabinoids — you're currently making and using your own endocannabinoids right now. It's just as natural as any other process your body naturally fulfills on a regular basis, like metabolizing food or shedding old skin cells.
Endocannabinoids are molecules made by your body. They're similar to cannabinoids, but they're produced by you, for you. Endocannabinoid receptors are found broadly throughout your brain and body.
Endocannabinoids (just like cannabinoids that come from hemp plants) interact with the receptors throughout your body. Some types of endocannabinoids and plant cannabinoids have preferences for certain types of receptors, which promotes their interaction with specific internal processes.
As your body uses them up, endocannabinoids and plant cannabinoids are dissolved and removed from the body by the natural enzymes you produce.
The idea that CBD may cause brain fog stems from the fact that the human brain is ripe with receptors that can be influenced by CBD. However, it's unlikely that CBD would cause brain fog directly, as CBD interacts uniquely with these receptors.
CBD's interaction with the endocannabinoid system
Some cannabinoids like to bind to certain receptors in the brain and body. They lock right on, similarly to how two puzzle pieces fit together. While cannabinoids are locked on, they influence the system they're attached within. A cannabinoid’s preference is called its binding affinity.
Cannabinoids have different binding affinities, and some don't have a binding affinity at all. CBD doesn't have a strong binding affinity for any of your cannabinoid receptors.*
Rather than locking on, CBD interacts with your receptors like a brief handshake. It stimulates the receptors briefly and passes through. It's more of a catalyst for a response from your body than a driving force. CBD provides support and suggestions, but your body largely does the work.
Can CBD cause brain fog?
CBD generally isn't known to cause brain fog in low to moderate amounts. While there is some evidence that an abnormally large daily amount of CBD (600mg or more per day) may cause drowsiness, virtually every daily CBD user would never come close to reaching this threshold.*
Even seasoned CBD enthusiasts generally consume less than 100mg of CBD a day, including periods of increased stress or tension where they may feel the need for additional supplementation.
CBD’s active effects are efficiently eliminated from the body in a timely manner, which means you won’t experience the cumulative effects of your daily dropper and the dropper you used the day before.
Most evidence suggests that CBD may have the opposite effect of brain fog.* CBD may provide support for discomfort, cognition, and tension. This support may be more likely to promote mental clarity and less likely to inspire feelings of brain fog. When the body's stress response is supported, you're more likely to find it easier to concentrate.*
These supportive effects aren’t usually immediate. CBD shows more pronounced supportive benefits with consistent daily use. Balance and homeostasis occur over time, usually within a few weeks of incorporating CBD into your wellness routine.
CBD as a potential mitigator of brain fog
CBD may help mitigate feelings of cloudiness, rather than causing them. CBD's potential to promote relaxation may indirectly support mental clarity.
Insufficient sleep or poor quality sleep are significant contributors to brain fog. CBD has been studied for its role in improving sleep quality, and quality sleep can support cognitive functions during waking hours*.
Your endocannabinoid system is an internal regulator with branches that impact many processes, including stress response and circadian rhythm. CBD won't directly make you relax or fall asleep, but it will support your body's natural drive to engage in relaxation. Your mind and body want to be relaxed, focused, and cognitively attuned because you function optimally that way.
Brain fog isn't a normal or healthy process, and your body won't naturally create brain fog as an alternative to relaxation. Brain fog usually occurs as a cue that you need more rest than you’re currently getting. Think of it as a soft warning sign to slow down for a while.
Make sure you’re eating a balanced diet, drinking plenty of water, and getting seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep every night.
What should I do if I feel like CBD is giving me brain fog?
If you're using a CBD product and you believe it may be causing brain fog, discontinue using that product. Check the label for the presence of other cannabinoids that may be known to cause drowsiness or sleepiness.
Some CBD products aren't intended for daytime use, like hemp-derived CBN products. CBN is used to promote restful sleep, so it's generally not a wise idea to use a CBN product before a busy workday. Make sure the packaging does not denote that the product is a nighttime or P.M. formulation.
Check the product's label for information regarding THC content. THC, especially in substantial amounts, is known to cause drowsiness. Most full spectrum hemp extract products contain negligible amounts of THC, which are typically far below the amount known to cause drowsiness in most people.
If you're using an unlabeled or insufficiently labeled CBD product, it's likely unsafe to use. Reputable CBD companies accurately label every batch of CBD they produce and send samples to a third-party lab to evaluate the accuracy of their labeling and check for the presence of impurities or contaminants.
If your product hasn't been lab-tested and you can't find a batch number, it's best to assume it isn't safe to use.
How can you tell if CBD is working to promote mental clarity?
The lure of CBD is its holistic supportive benefits, but many people may not notice any noteworthy supportive effects when they first begin using CBD. The wealth of CBD's documented benefits are the result of consistent daily usage over a period of several weeks.
CBD is not intended to be used as a "one and done" approach or to be ingested as needed, but rather to be incorporated into a wellness regimen as a daily staple. It's similar to the benefits of exercise. Using a treadmill once every month won't produce any noteworthy benefits. Wellness is an ongoing process that requires devoted maintenance.
CBD provides support by encouraging balance within the body's endocannabinoid system. Finding and maintaining balance stems from a consistent commitment. The choices you make every day impact how you feel, and consistently making mindful choices to support your wellness will have a progressive effect.
It may take several weeks of consistent CBD use before you're able to effectively evaluate the impact CBD has on your overall wellness. Most CBD tinctures and water soluble products come in glass bottles containing 30 daily servings. When used daily, you'll likely have enough experience to notice meaningful supportive effects by the time you've finished your first bottle.
Most people find that a small serving size (30mg per day) is enough to inspire noteworthy effects when used on a long-term basis. Some people find that larger serving sizes (up to 90mg per day) are more sufficient for their personal wellness goals.
People new to incorporating CBD into their daily routines are generally advised to start with smaller serving sizes until they have more experience consistently incorporating CBD into their wellness regimen.
The bottom line
CBD is a non-psychoactive supplement that doesn’t override your body’s natural processes. It complements and supports your body’s balance without fundamentally changing the way your body works. It’s highly unlikely that CBD would cause drowsiness at a standard amount of 30mg to 90mg per day, even with long-term use.
If drowsiness is a concern, it’s important to choose CBD products designated for daytime or anytime use. Avoiding CBD products that contain sleep-supporting cannabinoids like CBN during the daytime can prevent unwanted feelings of sleepiness. If you use whole hemp extract CBD products, they generally do not contain enough THC to produce feelings of drowsiness or brain fog.
It’s important to read the label on your CBD products and only choose products that have been tested by an independent lab for purity, quality, and cannabinoid content. It’s vital to understand the ingredients of your CBD product and how they’ll work within your body.
Finally, the effects and benefits of CBD only become apparent with consistent daily use. It may take you up to a month to understand the way CBD provides holistic support to your body. Using CBD once won’t give you the full picture of its supportive potential.
*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Sources:
Review of the Endocannabinoid System | National Library of Medicine
Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Action of Cannabidiol | National Library of Medicine