The Benefits Of CBD For Focus, Concentration And Memory

If you’re using CBD for focus, concentration or productivity purposes, this means you’re wise to one of CBD’s more understated uses. After all, CBD users have long touted its ability to reduce stress, pain, and anxiety – but not everyone knows about the potential benefits of using CBD for focus or productivity. 

CBD can certainly reduce anxiety, which in itself can improve your capacity to be more mentally focused. The former Friends star Jennifer Aniston said in an interview that CBD helps her feel less anxious without making her feel ‘high’. Then there was the CBD themed baby shower Kim K threw back in 2019, proving her belief in this plant-based remedy. 

From Mike Tyson and Ricky Williams to Paul Pierce and Tom Hanks, it seems almost everybody is taking CBD in one form or another. How many people, however, are taking CBD for focus? The fact that CBD promotes calmness and relaxation is pretty well-established at this point, making it a boon for people who suffer from chronic pain, insomnia, mood disorders, anxiety and chronic stress.

However, what if taking CBD could also help you boost your cognitive function, so you feel more focused and productive throughout the day?  

What Does Science Say About Using CBD for Focus? 

One recent study revealed that after taking an oral dose of 600mg of CBD, participants experienced significant increase in the blood flow to the hippocampus, i.e., the area of the brain associated with memory processing. Several of the study’s participants also showed reduced reaction time for performing memory-related tasks. 

That’s not all: after consuming CBD, the prefrontal cortex in all participants also exhibited increased blood flow. For the uninitiated, this is the part of your brain you use for planning and decision making. 

The report further established how CBD can help promote neuron growth in the brain, reducing states of fogginess, productivity-inhibiting depression, and anxiety. Researchers stated that these findings could be a critical discovery for treating conditions which affect memory, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease.   

CBD is one of the rare naturally-occurring compounds that also allows more serotonin to flow to your brain, which gently (very gently) sedates the neuro-receptors associated with sleep, addiction, and anxiety. This makes you less distracted, more alert, and could sharpen your mind. 

Another popular cannabinoid you may have heard of is THC or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Unlike CBD, THC is psychoactive and gives people a “high” or euphoric feeling that almost always leads to drowsiness and sleepiness. 

THC is mainly found in marijuana plants, not in hemp plants. A tiny amount of THC is present in hemp plants though, which produce CBD. But, by law, when it comes to CBD and industrial hemp products, they can contain no more than 0.3% THC.

The reason why we are mentioning all this is to make sure you understand that CBD and THC are not the same substance at all. While both are used for medicinal and therapeutic purposes, CBD won’t make you feel high or stoned.

How Exactly Could CBD Make You More Focused?

CBD is one of 113 cannabinoids found in hemp (cannabis) plants and is non-intoxicating in nature. It interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is essentially a giant network of cellular receptors and chemical signals that are located throughout our brains and bodies. 

Your body already makes endocannabinoids. That’s right, you’ve always had tiny cannabis-like molecules floating around in your brain. The ECS controls and regulates most of our major bodily functions, such as immune and inflammatory responses, pain control, temperature control, emotional processing, sleep, appetite, movement, mood, and – you guessed it – learning and memory.

However, the ECS can only regulate these functions when it’s working properly. When this system fails, it leads to an increased risk of disease and disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia, and migraines. 

Thanks to rapidly advancing medical science, we now know that when the body is unable to create enough of its own endocannabinoids, we may be able to supplement with plant-based cannabinoids. And that’s where the use of a high-quality CBD oil comes in. When you consume CBD in any form – oil, tincture, pellet, gummies, beverages, and what-not – it helps your body produce more endocannabinoids, thus stimulating the functions mentioned above. The most effective way to consume CBD is said to be in oil form, dropped under the tongue (sublingually).

If you often have trouble focusing, concentration, being productive, or struggle with being self-motivated while being self-employed, there’s a possibility that a high-quality CBD oil such as Wunderkind Extracts could help you.

Now that you know how CBD works, let’s discuss its impact on your ability to “focus”. It’s no ground-breaking news that people today can have a hard time giving their undivided attention to the task at hand for several reasons, such as:

• Chronic Conditions: If you suffer from back pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis, migraines, and nerve damage, it’s easy to get distracted by the pain and discomfort. Since CBD can help reduce pain, it could therefore improve your capacity to focus on your task at hand, making CBD for focus entirely plausible. 
• Medication: Traditional medications come with many side effects that include dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and drowsiness. If you are taking meds to manage any chronic conditions mentioned above, or other mental and physical health needs, you are likely to feel that “brain fog” that comes with them. If you swap out these medications for CBD, you may find your cognitive function improves. This works for many people, since CBD can be an organic alternative to anxiety medication, sleeping pills, and pain medication.
• Excess Stress and Lack of Sleep: Being under too much stress and not getting enough sleep are two of the most common issues most of us face each day that contribute to trouble focusing. Poor sleep also leads to an increase in cortisol levels, which in turn causes reduced comprehension ability and slower reaction times. If taking CBD oil improves your sleep quality, it’s natural that your focus the next day will also improve.

If this sounds like you, taking CBD could help you. We are not saying that CBD will instantly make your mind sharper, but with regular use of CBD, it could enhance your cognitive function significantly. Let’s discuss how using CBD for focus works in a bit more detail:

You Could Start Waking Up Feeling More Alert 

Multiple studies have found that quality sleep improves your health, mood, memory, concentration and brain performance. Not getting enough good sleep regularly raises the risk of a plethora of ailments, ranging from dementia and obesity to heart disease and stroke.  

CBD users have long been saying that it helps them sleep better, and many studies corroborate this. By improving the quality and duration of your sleep, CBD can help you wake up feeling more alert, rested and capable of being more productive. 

CBD = Higher Serotonin Levels = More Energy and Mental Clarity

For those of you who struggle with feelings of anxiety or lack of motivation, CBD may be incredibly beneficial due to its impact on the body’s dopamine and serotonin levels. Serotonin is often called the “feel-good” hormone, and when your body doesn’t have enough of it, you can feel fatigued and lethargic. Similarly, low dopamine levels zap your motivation and make you have trouble focusing on anything. It seems that when our mood improves, our capacity to focus and be productive improves as well.

CBD can help improve focus by potentially triggering the receptors in your endocannabinoid system to balance the serotonin and dopamine levels. 

CBD for Focus: The Bottom Line

It appears that the more we learn about CBD, the greater benefit they can deliver to us. One thing to keep in mind is that to experience all the benefits of CBD discussed above, you need the right dose. Unfortunately, there is not one specific serving size that everyone can take to support their brain health since everyone’s body is different. We recommend starting off with a small dose such as one drop of a CBD tincture under the tongue, and gradually working your way up over several weeks, until you feel the desired effects.

If you’re using CBD for focus, concentration or productivity, you likely don’t want to use an Indica strain, since that can make you feel sleepy. It’s best to use a Sativa strain. Try Wunderkind Extract’s Super Lemon Haze Sativa CBD oil.

Disclaimer: The statements made in this article about CBD for focus have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration. Medical advice should be sought before starting any supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, have any pre-existing medical conditions, and/or currently take any prescription medications.