Key Takeaways: 

- Participants who took CBD reported feeling significantly calmer and more relaxed compared to those who took the placebo, suggesting CBD may help reduce anxiety.

- Runners who consumed CBD reported an 8% reduction in how hard the run felt at the one-mile mark, indicating that CBD might make physical exertion feel easier.

- The study found no significant differences in gastrointestinal symptoms, heart rate, or blood pressure between the CBD and placebo groups, suggesting CBD doesn’t have harmful side effects on these measures.

The Research Process

A recent study from the University of Northern Colorado found CBD might help with your workout.

In this study, scientists wanted to find out if a single dose of 300mg of CBD could improve performance in recreational runners. They looked at things like anxiety, heart rate, blood pressure, and how runners felt during a two-mile run.

Here’s how it worked: 12 healthy adults participated, and each one took either CBD or a placebo (a harmless pill) on different days. After taking the capsules, the participants rested for two hours before doing a treadmill run as fast as they could. During the run, and at different times afterward, the researchers measured heart rate, perceived effort (how hard the run felt), and other health markers.

So, what did they find? First off, those who took CBD felt more relaxed and less anxious compared to those who took the placebo. This suggests that CBD might help with anxiety, which is great for performance because being less anxious can make you feel better and run more.

When it came to the actual run, the CBD group reported feeling less effort at the one-mile mark, and they ran just a tiny bit faster on average, though this wasn’t a huge difference. Importantly, there were no negative effects on heart rate or blood pressure.

In conclusion, this study hints that taking CBD before a run might make you feel less anxious and possibly help you push through those tough moments. While the improvements in performance weren't huge, the calming effects of CBD could be a win for those looking to manage their anxiety during exercise.