Let’s admit it… Last year sucked! But now that we’re in the new year, it’s a bit easier to have some optimism for the next 12 months.
We all know that there’s something magical about January 1st. It’s a fresh start, like someone is resetting the clock and wiping the slate clean.
New Year, New You... right?
But here’s the issue: Upon making our New Year’s Resolutions, we tend to be a bit dramatic and sometimes a little unrealistic. We set goals for ourselves that would even raise Tony Robbins’ eyebrows.
And while we’re not suggesting you not reach for the stars and dream big, we want to encourage you to be realistic so that after 6 months, or even 2 weeks into the new year, you don’t give up and say, “I’ll start next year.”
Now, you might be wondering, “That’s great, but what do my New Year’s Resolutions have to do with CBD oil?
We’re glad you asked.
According to Psychology Today, New Year’s Resolutions often fail due to the following three reasons:
1. Your goals aren’t clear or realistic
Ask yourself why you’re setting these goals in the first place. Then ask how you plan on achieving these goals.
If you can’t answer these questions, you might want to reconsider your goals.
In fact, “Uncertainty about your goals creates room for indifference, confusion, and distance between your goals and your aspirations. You may think the most important step is simply creating the goals, but crafting vague objectives can cause you more psychological distress.”
And believe it or not, CBD oil can help clear your mind, which can motivate you to think clearer and more realistically.
In fact, scientific evidence has shown that CBD oil contains neurological benefits—meaning it can improve neural pathways, which may help improve your thought processes.
It’s also been shown to act as a nootropic, which may improve brain function, memory, motivation, and creativity in certain individuals.
2. You feel overwhelmed and stressed
Anytime you embrace change, you’re going to feel uncomfortable. Hence the meaning of change: alter or modify; replace with something else.
New Year’s Resolutions are not meant to happen immediately. Real change happens slowly. But in this day and age, we want what we want now!
We want to be skinny now! We want to feel less pain now! We want to make more money now! We want to spend more time with family now! We want to achieve our goals... now!
And to be frank, these goals can’t be achieved overnight; it’s just not realistic.
But we put pressure on ourselves to make these changes so fast, that we inevitably get burned out, stressed, and overwhelmed with unnecessary pressure that we end up just throwing in the towel and giving up.
Not to mention, stress and anxiety are prevalent these days, and that’s partly due to the overwhelming pressures to succeed. But there are hidden stressors that come from our surroundings as well—like our home environment, culture, loved ones, and ourselves.
But according to multiple scientific studies, researchers have found that CBD not only helps reduce anxieties like Glossophobia (the fear of public speaking) and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), it also helps reduce stress, slow down elevated heart rates, and reduce anxiety in animals as well.
Research also shows that CBD may help reduce symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Other studies suggest that CBD produces anti-stress effects, which may help calm down the body and mind completely.
So if you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed out over the status of your New Year’s Resolutions, then CBD may help chill you out and get you out of your stressful state of mind and into a more relaxed state—so you can focus on achieving your resolutions at a more realistic pace.
3. You feel discouraged and depressed
Just because it’s a new year and you’ve set new goals and resolutions for yourself, that doesn’t mean you're suddenly a new person.
Every person has their own unique biological makeup, which means no two people think the same, act the same, or feel the same.
This means the chemicals in your mind are much different than your siblings or your mom and dad.
So if you struggle with depression, you might find that your depression increases if you feel you’re not reaching your goals as fast as you’d like.
You may also “find yourself reflecting on the pros and cons, and whether the goals are even valuable.” And before you know it, you’ve talked yourself out of fulfilling your resolutions.
But CBD has been shown to produce anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects, which help keep the mind focused and motivated.
As a matter of fact, in one study, researchers found that CBDA (another phytocannabinoid found in the marijuana and hemp plant) and CBD may actually reduce motivational dysfunction by the activation of the 5-HT1A receptor and the elevation of endogenous cannabinoids.
Start the year off right
Now that we know why so many resolutions fail, it’s also nice to know that CBD oil and other CBD-infused products can help keep us on track when we feel overwhelmed or run down.
But just in case you’re still on the fence about incorporating CBD oil into your New Year’s Resolutions, here are a few other examples of how CBD can help you achieve your New Year’s goals...
Lose weight
Losing weight is a huge undertaking. It requires more exercise, eating cleaner, and a mental change.
And as luck would have it, losing weight is rated the number one New Year’s Resolution every year.
But did you know that according to scientific research, CBD oil may actually help you lose weight?
In fact, studies show that CBD has a huge impact on stored fat cells.
For example:
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CBD helps stimulate the proteins and genes that break down fat cells.
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CBD helps decrease proteins responsible for creating new fat cells.
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CBD increases the human body’s ability to burn and create energy.
Other research shows that CBD can influence white fat (“bad” fat) to turn into brown fat (“good” fat which generates heat and energy). The more brown fat we have, the more fit we can become.
Sleep better
Many people decide to make sleep a priority as their New Year’s Resolution. We all can use more sleep, right?
But not everyone is successful in getting better sleep.
Yes, diet and exercise help us achieve better sleep, but there are several cases where we have no control of what's going on in our body that’s preventing us from sleeping in the first place.
There are other factors too, like:
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Reducing your blue-light exposure –– turn off the TV a couple of hours before you go to bed. And don’t look at your phone before you try to go to sleep.
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Avoid sugary and caffeinated foods and drinks at least 4 hours before you go to bed.
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Meditate 30 minutes before you go to bed.
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Stay hydrated.
But the most compelling evidence is incorporating CBD oil into your daily routine.
In fact, in one case study, a little girl who battled with PTSD, anxiety, insomnia, and several other psychological issues found relief from taking CBD oil daily.
Her grandmother stated, “My granddaughter’s behaviors are definitely better being on CBD. Her anxiety is not gone, but it is not as intense and she is much easier to be around. She now sleeps in her own room most of the time, which has never happened before.”
And according to anecdotal reports, CBD oil and other high-quality CBD products help reduce symptoms that disrupt poor sleep.
Reduce your pain
Another popular New year’s Resolution is having less pain, which is easier said than done. But with the right steps, you can most certainly achieve that resolution.
Again, incorporating a healthier diet, getting more exercise, and reducing your daily stress can make all the difference in your pain perception, but we know life happens and it’s not always easy to stay disciplined.
However, several high-quality CBD products have shown to be highly effective in relieving unwanted symptoms of pain.
First, let’s start with the science…
According to several studies, CBD helps stimulate our endorphins, which are responsible for helping us deal with stress and unwanted aches and pains. The more endorphins we have, the better we can manage our pain.
Not to mention, CBD is a powerful anti-inflammatory, and where there is inflammation there is usually pain. So the more we consume CBD, and we don’t mean by volume, but rather how often we consume CBD, the more our Endocannabinoid System (ECS) can help regulate our body from within, and the less pain we generally feel.
In fact, studies show that applying high-quality CBD creams and topicals helps promote arthritic pain relief.
But that’s not all; CBD also helps preserve our own endogenous cannabinoids like Anandamide, which is actually known as the “bliss molecule”.
Unfortunately, anandamide is a short lived endocannabinoid, so it’s up to each individual's body to produce enough anandamide to address pain, stress, anxiety, and depression.
The more anandamide we have, the happier and better we feel. But because each person is biologically built differently, some may not produce enough anandamide in the first place.
This is where CBD may be able to help. Studies show that when CBD is consumed, it actually helps prevent the breakdown of anandamide, thus allowing our body to naturally address the overwhelming symptoms of pain.
Become more active
Exercising more and becoming more active is at the top of the list for people’s New Year’s Resolutions. But we all know that the cold winter days aren’t always encouraging us to get out and go for a walk.
It seems that during the winter months, we want to hunker down indoors and stay warm. We tend to eat warmer, comforting foods, sleep more, and watch a lot of TV.
And while going to the gym is easy for some, it’s not always an option for others. So it’s easy to lose motivation.
But as we mentioned earlier, CBD is known to reduce motivational dysfunction, but did you know that it also improves cognitive performance?
Yep, according to studies, CBD helps fight fatigue by boosting our productivity and brain power.
And according to other studies, CBD oils and CBD creams can help reduce arthritic pains and aches. It can also reduce intestinal inflammation that keeps us curled up in the fetal position due to pain.
Additional studies show that CBD can improve mobility in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
So taking just a few drops of CBD may actually get you in gear to stay active.
New Year, New You!
Look, we understand that CBD oil and other CBD-infused products are amazing, but they’re in no way a “cure-all”.
That said, CBD should never be used to diagnose, treat, or cure unwanted symptoms or diseases. But rather, CBD oil is a more natural, less invasive supplement that may help you achieve your New Year’s goals and resolutions.
The best advice we can give our readers is that in order to achieve the benefits and therapeutic properties of CBD, you must only consume and purchase high-quality CBD oils and other CBD infused products.
And the best place to find premium CBD creams, oils, and edibles is online.
Just be sure to find reputable hemp companies that do third-party testing, utilize American grown hemp, and focus on educating their customers on their products.
The more you know about CBD, the more equipped you are in deciding on whether or not you want to consume CBD or not.
Whether it’s the start of the new year, or the middle of the summer, it’s never too early to practice good self-care. But take things slowly, pace yourself, and don't be too hard on yourself.
We are our own worst critics, so it's easy to be harsh on ourselves. But the more you forgive yourself and pace yourself, the more likely you’ll achieve your New Year’s resolutions and goals.
In the end, no matter what your New Year’s resolutions are, we want you to know that we support you!
