How CBD Can Improve Your Work Productivity?

When you think about being more productive at work, anything related to cannabis is probably the last thing that comes to mind. After all, the image of a lazy stoner zoned out on the couch isn’t exactly in line with the idea of a successful career.

Not all cannabis products will get you high, though. Cannabidiol, or CBD, one of the primary compounds in cannabis, for instance, provides a range of health benefits without causing a high ^[1].

Found in everything from CBD oils to edibles to topical creams and salves, CBD has been shown to alleviate everything from pain to anxiety, and when used properly, can make a significant difference to your overall feelings of well-being and ability to function.

And while CBD itself won’t necessarily increase your work productivity directly, some of the benefits it provides can help increase your performance, creativity, and output. Let’s take a closer look at some of the potential career benefits of using CBD.

Health Benefits Of CBD

#1. Reduced Anxiety

Anxiety in all forms can affect your performance at work. Social anxiety, for instance, can prevent you from forming meaningful and productive partnerships.

Generalized anxiety can affect everything from your sleep to your mood. You might even suffer from situational anxiety that keeps you from performing your best; for example, you might be anxious about giving presentations or speaking up in meetings, which holds you back from reaching your potential.

Using CBD can help lessen some of these anxious feelings, giving you a sense of calm and well-being that allows you to manage stressful ^[2].

#2. Improved Sleep

One of the most common uses of CBD is to improve sleep. Research indicates that taking CBD not only helps reduce insomnia but also reduces nighttime waking. Getting adequate sleep is vital to your productivity at work ^[3].

Sleep deprivation affects your ability to focus and concentrate, impairs your judgment, makes it more difficult to make decisions, and negatively affects your mood. That’s not even considering the health effects of sleep deprivation, including impacts to your immune system that can cause you to take sick days.

Adding CBD to your nighttime ritual can support healthier sleep, which in turn can lead to improved performance at work.

#3. Increased Focus

You might head to your local Oklahoma marijuana dispensary for CBD to help you sleep, but the compound can also help increase your energy ^[4].

Almost everyone has experienced the “afternoon slump” at some point, that predictable period when it feels like the minutes are dragging by and you just want to take a nap. There’s evidence, though, that using CBD can help activate certain receptors in your brain and clear neural pathways and allow for greater mental clarity and focus ^[5].

Some people also experience a boost in energy. This means that at 3 p.m. when your coworkers are trudging to the vending machine looking for a sugary pick-me-up, you can keep working and get more done during the workday.

#4. Improved Self Care

The concepts of self-care and work productivity might seem unrelated, but taking good care of yourself physically and mentally is a cornerstone of productivity. When used properly, CBD can be a part of taking better care of yourself.

Self-care can encompass everything from exercising more to eating right to practicing mindfulness and meditation, but for many people, starting with a few simple self-care routines snowballs into an overall better sense of well-being.

And ultimately, taking better care of yourself typically extends into healthier habits and behaviors that will extend to your work. When you feel happy and healthy, you’re more likely to be creative and productive in all aspects of your life.

#5. Reduce Stress

No, using CBD won’t magically make all of the stress and challenges of your workday disappear. It can, however, influence your response to stress by giving you increased mental clarity and less anxiety, and reduce the damage that stress can do to your body.

CBD has been scientifically shown to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can increase blood sugar and contribute to weight gain and a host of chronic health conditions ^[6]. Daily stress can also create what’s known as oxidative stress in the body, which leads to chronic inflammation throughout the body.

Inflammation is at the core of many chronic illnesses, but CBD can help reduce the inflammation and ensure your ongoing health and well-being.

Using CBD isn’t necessarily a cure-all for everything that ails you, but when used properly as part of an overall wellness routine it can be beneficial and help you at work — without turning you into a stoner.

6 Sources

We review published medical research in respected scientific journals to arrive at our conclusions about a product or health topic. This ensures the highest standard of scientific accuracy.

[1] Cannabidiol (CBD): https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/natural/1439.html
[2] Cannabidiol Reduces the Anxiety Induced by Simulated Public Speaking in Treatment-Naïve Social Phobia Patients: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079847/
[3] CBD for Sleep: https://thesleepdoctor.com/cannabis-and-sleep/cbd-and-sleep/
[4] Marijuana dispensaries in Oklahoma: https://weedmaps.com/dispensaries/in/united-states/oklahoma
[5] Cannabidiol (CBD): What we know and what we don't: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476
[6] Zuardi AW, Guimarães FS, Moreira AC. Effect of cannabidiol on plasma prolactin, growth hormone and cortisol in human volunteers. Braz J Med Biol Res. 1993 Feb;26(2):213-7. PMID: 8257923.

Dr. Keith Kantor

Dr. Kantor has a Ph.D. in Nutritional Science and has been an advocate of natural food and healthy living for 30 years. He is also on t Read Full Bio