The holidays are over, and the bills are left behind. But that’s not the only struggle that comes with winter. As the weather turns colder, your joints may ache, and your muscles get stiff. It’s not just age doing that; it’s a biological response to the cold that we hate.
It can be easy to let it all overwhelm you, sinking ever deeper into the slushy grey pits of unkempt snowfall (metaphorically speaking, hopefully, this isn’t literal in your case). But we live in an age that’s chock full of answers, and have we got one for you! So if you’re just trying your best to keep it all together, then maybe it’s time to indulge a little bit in some CBD.
The Cards As They’ve Been Dealt
It’s getting pretty cold out there, and the chilly weather has many effects on the human body, and not all of them are pleasant. Lower temperatures can slow blood flow throughout the body as the blood vessels constrict and tighten. Blood can thicken in colder climates, which might account for how slow you feel, and shallow breathing is a common side-effect.
But it isn’t just medical conditions from the cold itself that you have to worry about. When the snow starts to fall, you’re in for another wonderful set of problems. If you live somewhere that gets a lot of snow in regular intervals, and you’ve got a car in the driveway, you have snow shoveling in your future — and probably a good bit of it. Leaning in and shoveling it all off the driveway multiple times isn’t good for anyone’s back or knees. Of course, it’s especially painful on your backside or knees if you slip and fall, which is probably something for which you’ll want to plan.
But let’s say you’ve already got some aches as it is. It’s not uncommon. As we age, joint aches can affect anyone as well as any other chronic aches that come with age and injury. The cold isn’t going to help you much with those. As the body constricts to adjust to the outside weather, struggling to retain internal body temperature, it can exacerbate tension in the muscles and aches in joints.
With all of these potential aches in your future, it might feel a bit overwhelming to step into this season and try to enjoy yourself. It might unless you’ve got CBD on your side.
A New Hand to Play
Chronic aches are something that CBD is specially equipped to handle, and there are a number of reasons why.
First, one of the benefits of taking CBD is that it helps induce something called homeostasis. Homeostasis is a cool way of saying that CBD helps your body to regulate and balance a number of biological systems so that they’re working closer to how they’re supposed to work. This balance can include benefits such as stronger blood flow, relaxed muscles around joint areas, better air circulation through the body and lungs, and more.
Now, this is already a huge boon when it comes to dealing with winter-related aches, but there’s actually more to it than that. Another thing that CBD does is help to regulate mood and relieve apprehension, whether it’s chronic or due to a short burst related to a specific situation or other concerns. This can actually help with physical pressure and injury. When you are highly apprehensive, it puts the body into a fight or flight state that makes all the muscles in your body tense up, as if ready to run away or stand and fight. This can worsen the aggravation of tense muscles and sore joints in the long run. However, when the apprehension is relieved, the body is essentially permitted to relax and rationally handle those concerns.
Another more direct use for CBD is with topicals that contain copious amounts of CBD along with other enhancing ingredients such as beeswax and menthol. These usually come in the form of a salve or balm and can be applied directly to the area that needs a little help. The topical will penetrate the skin and go to work, helping to reduce aggravation and relieve the discomfort in that area.
There you have it! CBD can be a welcome partner when those winter aches try to dampen your seasonal fun.