Growing old healthier with CBD

People are staying fit and healthy for longer. This is largely due to better nutrition and a change in physical work. This used to be quite physically demanding for many people, but that has changed considerably in the last century. 

However, scientists discovered around 2000 that endorphins cannot cross the blood-brain barrier. That means that only the endorphins produced in the brain are used in the brain. In studies where runners were given endorphin blockers, the subjects still got a runner’s high.

Exercise remains necessary, of course, but we get a lot of our exercise because we do it in a recreational atmosphere, we like to exercise. One of the reasons exercise is so good for us is that it releases endorphins and endocannabinoids. When running, for example, the endocannabinoids also cause the so-called runners high. That feeling that everything seems to go by itself and reduces pain, ultimate bliss. Read more about this in the blog “ The runner’s high and endocannabinoids ”.

But the endocannabinoids don’t just work for running and have a much broader effect than just the runner’s high. The endocannabinoids (and endorphins) are released with every form of exercise and work throughout your body. 

Move against the pain

The old-fashioned trinity of healthy living still applies: good night’s sleep, healthy food and sufficient exercise. As a person gets older this is even more important. You can do a lot yourself when it comes to healthy food, but sleeping and moving when your body has complaints and disorders is often more difficult. 

Sufficient exercise helps with good sleep, but when you are in pain your normal reaction is to spare the painful area. However, exercise can actually help reduce the pain because it produces endorphins and endocannabinoids. 

That’s why researchers are now looking at other, lighter forms of exercise instead of the extreme running. They want to know how and when the cannabinoids, such as with a runner’s high, start to work when walking, for example.

But they also investigate it in very gentle movements, such as stretching and stretching, and in inner movement arts, such as Tai Chi. When complaints disappear through cannabinoids, heavier movements may also be possible again. Movements that require muscle strength, make the heart beat faster and make the blood flow faster.

Sources

Endocannabinoids, exercise, pain and a path to health with aging
Bruce A. Watkins
Mol. Aspects Med.
December 2018
DOI: 10.1016/j.mam.2018.10.001