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Summary

The author of the article, a resident of a state where CBD products are legal, shares their personal experience with CBD oil, detailing their use of capsules and gummies over a 30-day period and the lack of significant positive effects on their mood, exercise recovery, inflammation, and sleep quality, despite initial expectations.

Abstract

The article titled "The Miracle that Didn’t Occur: How CBD oil didn’t change my life" is a firsthand account of the author's trial with CBD oil products, specifically from CV Sciences, to potentially improve their mood, recover from a foot injury, and enhance sleep quality. The author, who does not suffer from anxiety or depression, experimented with both 5 mg gummies and 15 mg capsules, adhering to a daily regimen for a month. Despite anecdotal feelings of improved mood and sleep, objective data from the author's Fitbit did not corroborate these perceptions. Additionally, there was no noticeable improvement in exercise recovery or inflammation reduction. The author concludes that the benefits of CBD oil

Health

The Miracle that Didn’t Occur

How CBD oil didn’t change my life

(Note: I took it myself, I didn’t give it to my dog, but I liked the picture) Image by Erin Stone from Pixabay

I have heard a lot of people rave about the benefits of CBD oil lately and thought I would give it a try. CBD is alleged to address a myriad of issues including improving sleep, reducing anxiety and depression as well as having anti-inflammatory qualities which reduces pain.

While I don’t suffer from anxiety or depression, I have heard that it can provide some general mood-elevation, and who wouldn’t appreciate that? I also have a nagging foot injury from playing basketball earlier this year (when things like that happened) and felt like I would benefit from improving my sleep quality.

I did a lot of research up front and ended up learning one key difference in the many products out there. While marijuana sales are legal in many states now, it is still an illegal substance elsewhere. CBD oil, a derivative of the marijuana plant is legal in more states than actual marijuana, but there are still varying rules from state to state.

What is legal in all 50 states is the use and consumption of hemp products. Because of that you will often find hemp products sold with representation that they have all of the benefits of CBD products, however, there is no solid evidence that is the case.

Since I live in a state where it is legal to purchase and use CBD products, I decided to try those out rather than give the hemp look-alikes a try. The hemp products in gummy form, pills and drops are available at Amazon and are cheaper, but those don’t actually contain any CBD.

Image by Julia Teichmann from Pixabay

After looking at several online companies, I decided to go with CV Sciences’ offerings as they are priced in the middle of competing brands. I purchased a 30-count bottle of 15 mg capsules and a 30-count jar of 5 mg gummies.

I wasn’t really sure of dosing, and there weren’t really any clear guidelines to be found. Most reviews offered that it was really up to the individual, so I decided to start slow with the 5 mg gummies.

I did a single gummy one time at bedtime for 2 days and couldn’t really say that anything was happening. So, upped the dose to two gummies for a few days and still, not really anything. After a week or so I realized I was forgetting to take them before bed, so switched to morning because that worked better with my routine.

I figured as long as I was getting a daily dose that timing didn’t matter, and there was also no clear instruction about best time of day to take them.

After a bit I transitioned to the 15 mg capsule and made a point of taking one each day for 30 days straight. I started mid-June and finished mid-July. It has now been over two weeks since I started the 30-day regimen and I have deduced the following results:

Sense of Calm / Manage Anxiety

As I mentioned, I really couldn’t claim any sort of anxiety, so I wasn’t looking for any relief there. As I began, I thought I felt a little happier in general. But that is such a subjective feeling, that I wasn’t really sure how to quantify it.

After stopping now for over 2 weeks, I can’t report any perceived drop in my happiness level. So, I am guessing that any improvement I felt was perhaps a placebo effect, or really wasn’t happening. Hard to say, but definitely no notable decline once stopping. Which leads me to believe that there was no benefit in this category from taking the supplements.

Recovery from Exercise and Inflammation

I had pretty similar results in this category as well. The old foot injury seemed to get a bit better over the 30 days, but I am not really sure if that wasn’t just some regular process of healing. I did increase my workouts during that time as my gym opened back up as well.

I did more bodyweight exercises plus minimal weights. I can’t really say I had any noticeable improvement in recovery over before I took them. Plus, after stopping, I don’t really feel sorer, or that my recovery time has lengthened. Once again leading me to believe that there was no actual benefit from taking the supplements.

Maintain Healthy Sleep Cycles

On this one I had much more objective data thanks to Fitbit and their sleep score system. I have had the Fitbit for quite a long time and have an established sleep score history. Anecdotally I noticed the same things as with the other two categories. I sort of felt like I slept better, or at least felt better when I woke up.

But the sleep score data didn’t show any noticeable improvement. My average sleep score did not increase during the period I used the products compared to either the time periods previous, or in the two weeks since.

Price

At the time I initially purchased the products two months ago I paid $40 for the capsules and $20 for the lower-dose gummies, totaling around $68 with tax and shipping. I noticed in pricing the products today that I could get the same products for $30 and $12 dollars respectively, which represents a pleasant price drop.

If I was going to continue taking the supplements, I would find that to be a pretty nice savings. However, with no real tangible benefit, it is hard to justify paying anything for a supplement.

As it is, I am convinced that the way to recover as quickly as possible from working out or injuries, keep healthy sleep cycles and generally feel happy doesn’t actually come in a gummy or capsule format. Or anything found in a supplement.

I think the tried and true practice of exercising regularly, having a good nighttime routine before going to bed and keeping to a healthy diet with plenty of water is the best way to achieve all that is promised by CBD.

I know everyone has different results and some people may swear by CBD oil. But, for me, I just don’t think it is worth any additional cost or effort to buy and take CBD products.

We are the Discerning Nomads, aspiring to a semi-nomadic lifestyle in order to see as much of the world as possible. Join us on our journeys by visiting our Website, and following us on Instagram and Facebook.

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