How to Get the Most Out of Your CBD Routine Right Now

No matter how much we try to adapt to the current normal, it can still feel like your routine is shattered. Your once IRL human connections have gone increasingly digital. And boundaries between work and life are nonexistent. All of this while it seems questions about how long this will last and the toll this will take on public health and the economy are only met with uncertainty. Even if you’re currently using a meditation app, taking Zoom yoga, and sticking to your individualized CBD protocol to manage stress, you’re not alone in feeling more stressed than ever right now. A new national poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) found more than one-third of Americans (36%) say coronavirus is having a serious impact on their mental health. And most (59%) feel coronavirus is having a serious impact on their day-to-day lives. That said, there’s never been a more apt moment to harness the power of your CBD routine. Here are our top tips on proactively tailoring your dosage and delivery to meet your current needs. 

How to Get the Most Out of Your CBD Routine Right Now

1. Stay Consistent With Your Routine

Whether you’ve been feeling like it’s challenging to adhere to a homeschool schedule for your kids or you’re struggling to find even a few minutes a day to devote to self-care, sticking to a routine might feel like an uphill battle right now. But when it comes to managing stress through your CBD regimen, you’ll do well to keep it consistent.  Just like pharmaceuticals, like birth control or thyroid medication, need to be taken daily, you’ll get the most out of taking CBD every day. When you do this, you’ll benefit from a cumulative effect. Cannabinoids build up in the body over time, maintaining sustained levels in your system, which then continuously support your Endocannabinoid System (ECS). And a bolstered ECS will constantly promote harmony across all of your body’s other systems—helping control sleep, mood, and overall homeostasis (a body’s state of balance).

Just like pharmaceuticals need to be taken daily, you’ll get the most out of taking CBD every day.

By being on a consistent daily CBD routine, your ECS can better indirectly modulate your hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, a hormone system that helps the body respond quickly to stressful events.  “If you have a healthier ECS and overarching balancing system, then your stress response on a day to day basis is going to be more resilient,” says Dr. Karen Hufnagl, DC, MS, the Clinical Science Director at Equilibria’s exclusive farm and bioscience partner CFH, Ltd, a functional medicine practitioner, and the founder of In Avanti Health. “CBD functions as an adaptogen. It is the same concept as ginseng, ashwagandha, cordyceps, or reishi, in that it works over time to not only help bring your system into balance, but also to develop that flexibility and resilience to be able to adapt to things that come across your path.”*

2. Add in Extra Doses as Needed

Establishing a baseline of greater balance is key. But, as we can easily see from the moment we’re now facing, higher levels of stress can crop up in peaks and valleys. That’s where episodic dosing comes in. “Once you’ve established a more balanced, healthier place of resilience, you can add in additional as needed dosing if you encounter more unexpected stressors, like this current situation,” explains Dr. Hufnagl.  Taking additional doses when you need them, at your own pace, puts the power of extra support around stress management in your hands. “That might look like taking it in the morning. Because you know you have a stressful day ahead of you,” says Dr. Hufnagl. “For others, it might be taking that extra, as-needed dose at night, in order to get restful sleep.” In short, experimenting with episodic doses—on top of your regular CBD routine—can be highly useful during a particularly challenging period of time or just before an event that tends to heighten stress. Be that a grocery run or meeting with a higher-up on the job. However, if you’re finding that you’re taking episodic doses on the regular, it might be time to transition to a higher strength formula within your regular protocol. “Say you’re someone who is feeling really stressed with the uncertainty of this current situation. And you’re being heavily affected by the idea of it dragging on for months. It might be better to increase your daily dosage,” notes Dr. Hufnagl.  That said, working with an Equilibria Certified Wellness Coach is key to ensuring your protocol continues to be effective. That’s because when it comes to CBD, a higher dose doesn’t necessarily yield better results. You’ll do better to work on pinpointing the dose that’s ideal for you.

3. Experiment with Extra Strength

If you find yourself taking more frequent episodic doses, it might be time to consider the Extra Strength formula, which provides 50mg CBD per full 1ml dropper (1500mg CBD per 30ml). Or five times more potency than our standard Daily Drops.  You’re still getting plenty of the terpenes (like beta-caryophyllene) and cannabinoids in the regular strength. “But based on what we’ve seen, the levels in the Extra Strength are more concentrated,” says Dr. Hufnagl. “You’re taking more of the CBD. But you’re also taking more of the other cannabinoids and more of the other terpenes. And because all of them are working synergistically, you may see a more amplified benefit.” This is what’s referred to as “the entourage effect” (or “the ensemble effect”). Which is when multiple cannabinoids (our products have 3-4x industry average) work together to bolster each other. That said, everyone’s ECS is unique and will respond in an individual way to your dose.  “Given that the ECS varies from person to person, you [would need to experiment with] a higher dose in order to see how your system is going to respond,” says Dr. Hufnagl.  To figure out what’s right for you, take advantage of Equilibria’s Wellness Coaching Sessions. If you’re already an EQ member, feel free to schedule your Wellness Coaching Session here.