Cannabidiol (CBD) continues to prove its value in recreation, science, and medicine. This all-encompassing natural extract helps us learn about and connect deeper with our bodies, inspiring us to make more informed choices about our health and well-being. This blog will explore how research on CBD therapy pervades common knowledge to uncover a part of the human body that, generally, has remained unseen and unstudied: the endocannabinoid system (ECS). Consider this your endocannabinoid system for dummies guide for answers to all your ECS questions.
What is the endocannabinoid system?
The endocannabinoid system is your body’s balance hub. This complex signal system regulates essential bodily functions: sleep/wake cycle, mood, appetite, immune response, and pain management. Its role is to find and maintain homeostasis. You can think of it like a switchboard in your body that routes incoming signals from the environment to the various internal systems that manage the functions above. Your endocannabinoid system harmonizes these physiological processes to keep you feeling your best.
So, how does the endocannabinoid system work?
Your body’s ECS consists of endocannabinoids, enzymes, and receptors.
Endocannabinoids
Endocannabinoids are compounds your body naturally produces. These compounds carry messages from the environment (light, sound, physical touch, pain, and stress), subsequently transmitted through the ECS receptors to the appropriate system for processing.
Receptors
There are two types of receptors: CB1 and CB2. One cool thing about your endocannabinoid system is that it stretches across your upper body. CB1 receptors reside in the brain and central nervous system. Conversely, CB2 receptors are concentrated in the immune and peripheral nervous systems.
Enzymes
After the endocannabinoids transfer their signals to CB1 or CB2 receptors, proteins called enzymes break down the endocannabinoids to keep the ECS balanced, clean, and functional.
Your endocannabinoid system’s best friends
As the balance conductor for the rest of your body, endocannabinoids, receptors, and enzymes work together to calibrate oncoming stress, pain, and hormonal imbalances. Your endocannabinoid system allows powerful natural remedies, such as cannabidiol (CBD), to talk to your body and maneuver its responses to deliver holistic therapeutic effects. So now that you know the ECS is the conduit your body uses to receive messages from the environment, what can you do to best support it?
To best support your ECS, aside from exercising regularly (which increases endocannabinoid production), and effectively managing stress, some specific foods and supplements make your ECS particularly happy. Fish, nuts and seeds, fruits, and vegetables are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and are food for your ECS’ soul. To take it a step further, CBD products are the most optimal way to support your endocannabinoid system.
CBD engages with your ECS to enhance its functionality, including regulating your body’s rhythms- like sleep, memory, appetite, immune response, pain sensation, mood, and body temperature.
Endocannabinoid system for dummies: How CBD affects your ECS
Cannabidiol (CBD) enhances endocannabinoid activity and increases their longevity. This potent extract engages with both CB1 and CB2 receptors to deliver targeted relief to sites of pain and inflammation and, in turn, regulates mood. Moreover, CBD promotes calmness and relaxation, which helps with sleep issues and inconsistencies, stress management, and trouble with focus and concentration. Regardless of whether the root is chronic or acute, CBD provides all-encompassing pain and stress relief that quiets uncomfortable distractions. As a result, you get to save your energy and attention for the things that matter most to you.
When you’re ready to start talking to your endocannabinoid system to experience mental clarity, sustained focus, reduced anxiety, better sleep, and stress management, a more robust immune response, and a balanced mood, visit Cloud City Supply, voted the best CBD store in Silicon Valley for two consecutive years. Our budtenders work with clients to understand individual needs and make product recommendations accordingly. When you shop at Cloud City, you’ll never leave the store without knowing what to do with your new CBD products. Education is at the heart of Cloud City Supply’s brand. As such, we make it our business to educate consumers on how to use our products and how their ingredients work to deliver the wellness elements they crave.
If you’re unsure where to start with your CBD journey or need professional expertise, visit us in-store or conveniently browse our online offerings for access to the finest-quality CBD products. We hope you found this endocannabinoid system for dummies guide helpful, and we are excited for you to implement what you learn!