CBD could boost sports performance on several fronts – study

Combining CBD with exercise could reduce inflammation, improve breathing during sports performance and make working out more pleasurable, a new study suggests.

Researchers investigated the effects of oral CBD on physiological and psychological responses to aerobic exercise, to test its practical use within a sporting context.

Nine endurance athletes ran for an hour at a fixed level of intensity (70 per cent), before running to exhaustion.

Participants received CBD (300 mg; oral) or placebo 1.5 hours before exercise in a randomised, double-blind study.

Various measurements were taken at several points, including heart rate, blood glucose levels, respiratory indices and “pleasure-displeasure” levels.

The study concluded: “These preliminary results suggest that acute, oral CBD treatment has the potential to alter key physiological and psychological responses during aerobic exercise.

“[CBD’s] effects on [maximal oxygen uptake], feelings of pleasure during exercise and exercise-induced inflammation appear worthy of further investigation.

“The absence of a clear detrimental effect…also suggests that CBD is unlikely to impair aerobic exercise performance in endurance-trained males and may therefore have utility within the sporting context.

“Further research, involving a larger participant sample and different dosing regimens is required to confirm and better understand these initial observations.”

The study was conducted at the Charles Perkins Centre, at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Clinic in Sydney, Australia,

See the findings in full here.