Runners Who Take CBD Have Less Anxiety And Perceived Exertion, New Study Finds

The cannabis component CBD could benefit competitive runners by helping to reduce anxiety and perceived exertion, according to a forthcoming study.

The research, set to be published next month, involved 12 adult subjects who were given either 300 milligrams of CBD or a grapeseed oil placebo. After a two-hour waiting period, participants were instructed to complete a two-mile run on a treadmill as fast as possible.

Vital signs were captured periodically throughout the run and afterward, and participants also filled out surveys to measure anxiety and other subjective experiences.

The results indicated that participants who ingested cannabidiol “reported increased feelings of calm and relaxed” compared to those who took the placebo. The CBD group also had an 8 percent reduction in average rate of perceived exertion halfway through the two-mile run.

“These results suggest that an acute dose of CBD (300 mg) taken 2 hours before a 2-mile run may benefit runners in competition by improving anxiety symptoms and decreasing the rate of perceived exertion without hindering performance time,” according to an abstract of the findings published on the University of Northern Colorado’s website.

As for the speed of the runners, those who took CBD completed the two-mile runs slightly (3.1 percent) faster, but that difference was not statistically significant.

The full text of the new study, a master’s degree thesis by Elyssa Bell, is not set for release until September 1. An advisor on the project, University of Northern Colorado professor Laura K. Stewart, told Marijuana Moment that the paper is also being submitted for publication in an academic journal.

“The results of this project are exciting,” Stewart said in an email, “and we can’t wait to share them in full later this year.”

The findings add to a growing body of work around how cannabinoids influence exercise and physical activity.

Though stereotypes frequently associate cannabis use with lethargy or laziness, a study published earlier this year found that young to midlife adults were neither more sedentary nor more intensely active after consuming cannabis. In fact, recent marijuana use was associated with a “marginal increase” in light exercise.

“Our findings provide evidence against existing concerns that cannabis use independently promotes sedentary behavior and decreases physical activity,” authors of that paper wrote, adding that “the stereotypical ‘lazy stoner’ archetype historically portrayed with chronic cannabis use does not acknowledge the diverse uses of cannabis today.”

Another study, published last year, linked marijuana use to an enhanced “runner’s high” and lower pain during exercise. Participants experienced “less negative affect, greater feelings of positive affect, tranquility, enjoyment, and dissociation, and more runner’s high symptoms during their cannabis (vs. non-cannabis) runs,” according to those findings.

In another stereotype-busting study that was published in 2021, researchers found that frequent marijuana consumers are actually more likely to be physically active compared to their non-using counterparts.

Separate research published in 2020 found that “compared to older adult nonusers, older adult cannabis users had lower [body mass index] at the beginning of an exercise intervention study, engaged in more weekly exercise days during the intervention, and were engaging in more exercise-related activities at the conclusion of the intervention.”

And a 2019 study found that people use cannabis to elevate their workout tend to get a healthier amount of exercise. It also concluded that consuming before or after exercising improved the experience and aided in recovery.

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Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney.