If you want to stay in great shape whether you are a competitor or the average gym buff, Homeostasis, is important for keeping your body in top physical and mental condition. As a long-term competitor in martial arts and other competitive sports, it is essential that you balance mind, body, and spirit, which I have talked about in my martial arts books.

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It is often said the the difference between an Olympic athlete and the average workout buff is drive and determination to succeed. However, pro athletes must succeed and to do so, they work hard. This work, especially in training, places a great deal of stress on their bodies. Competition cycles in training assure that the athlete is ready to compete, whether a pro football player, martial artist, or soccer player. They pro’s and others like them enter the field of combat as it were. Just walking into such fields of play puts the athlete at risk of physical harm from other players or competitors. Likewise, going to the gym is somewhat similar. The workout will cause stress, especially if it is intense and while players aren’t around to injure you, cracking a shin on the nearby weight bench is always a possibility. Regardless of the training situation you find yourself in, stress is always present. It is the nature of training.

Consequently, stressors that push your body to its limits should be dealt with or counteracted internally with good nutrition and supplements. Doing so will help you maintain a high level of intensity in training and avoid deleterious effects within your body. And there you have it, balance is necessary. This balance internally is homeostasis. It is crucial to long-term health and performance, as well as preventing illness and imbalance.

What are the Basic Functions of Homeostasis?
We have discussed some of them above and in other articles in this issue, but primarily, and to reiterate, Homeostasis refers to bodily processes that constantly and actively maintain your body’s internal environment. If you wish to achieve optimal, as well as the most efficient performance, balance is critical no matter if you are a pro athlete or average gym buff. Let’s look at some of the processes of Homeostasis.

Blood Pressure
When you exercise, your bodily functions generally increase, which means that both nutrient and energy delivery within your system needs to be elevated to an increased rate. Doing this will cause an increase in blood pressure, which will routinely help deliver the necessary quantities of oxygen and nutrients to specific parts of the body. Also, exercise increases the body’s oxygen demand, which is helped through this process, ensuring that needed oxygen is delivered to muscles.

Heart Rate
As you begin to workout, your heart rate gradually increases, and your muscle slowly increase the need for oxygen. To deliver these needs, hormones are released that signal the heart rate to increase. As the heart begins to beat faster, oxygenated blood is pumped through all your veins and delivered to muscles where it is needed. Working within your optimal heart range for you age will help you to obtain the necessary oxygen to your system and which is part of the Homeostasis balance. The more conditioned one is, the more they are able to relax during workouts, but not in the normal sense, and thus, are able to deliver oxygenated blood as needed.

Blood Glucose Levels
When you work out, your energy levels, due to exertion during workout, will cause your blood glucose levels to decrease. As this happens, the body begins to break down carbohydrates into glucose and that energy is delivered as needed to various parts of the body. One issue is that as you exert increasing effort into your workout, training, or competition, the glucose reserves deplete rapidly. Therefore, it is critical to balance the necessary sport-specific training with your nutrition and supplements to keep the glucose reserves needed to maintain functionality of the body and muscles without undue fatigue. Wrestlers, martial artists, hockey, football, and similar contact sports have this as a criticality. Therefore, good nutrition will help to maintain a state of homeostasis. And, it is now known that CBD can help in this process.

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Body Temperature
Heat is produced by the body as it converts food into energy during exercise. Generally, as you may have guessed, the more you exercise, the more heat is produced, which causes a rise in body temperature. Climatic factors such as increase air temperature also cause body temperature to rise. To maintain balance in such situations, it is necessary that balance of your body’s systems through homeostasis be kept as fine-tuned as possible. As you sweat, and it evaporates, there is a natural evaporative cooling effect on the body, which helps in the Homeostasis process. And generally, blood vessels enlarge and are near the skin so that blood temperature is also cooled. The expulsion of air, now hotter, also helps cool the body.

Respiratory Rate
During training, the body needs to maintain a constant supply of oxygen in cells to support muscle functioning. As an average, about 15-25% more oxygen is required as you ramp up intensity compared to your resting state. Thus, you will notice that as your training intensity increases so too, does your breathing or respiratory rate. In some cases, the individual is unable to get the proper oxygen content and may hyperventilate, which can lead to fainting.

Sleep Cycles
Before beginning, please read our other article in this issue related to training and insomnia. For the Homeostasis process to work best, you need a good night’s sleep. Your body, for all its daily functions, whether business, fitness, average routines, or other, is dependent on rest. This means you need adequate REM and NREM cycles as you sleep, which means you need to reduce stress levels and fuel your body properly. If you get too ‘wound up’ getting a good night’s sleep can be difficult thus, balance is important. cing homeostatic drive for sleep. This is the result of the body’s need for rest after exertion. Therefore, you must be cognizant of sleep cycles and how they work and how CBD can help them. See …….

Body Fluid Levels
The body requires about one gallon of water per day and if you’re working out hard, more. Water assists in maintaining body temperature and many other physiological functioning processes. As you increase water intake, there is a slight increase in blood volume, but the opposite is also true. If you decrease water intake, there can be a decrease in blood volume and, since the blood carries necessary oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body, a decreased water intake is detrimental to performance, regardless of level. As oxygen and nutrients are decreased through insufficient water intake, both endurance and muscle strength – linked to oxygen and nutrient flow of the blood – are impaired. It you are a pro athlete or in any kind of competition this is very detrimental to success.

There are multiple things you should not do when competing. These include: cutting your weight to fit into a certain weight glass (primarily through dehydration); calorie deficient meals; over-hydration (this can flush the system of needed nutrients), which can cause weakness and even seizures; and drinking too much energy drinks that are high in caffeine.

How can CBD Help?
This entire issue has already described many of the benefits of CBD. As mentioned, CBD will help you sleep longer and more restful. Part of this process is accomplished by causing drowsiness by inhibiting the re-uptake of melatonin in the prefrontal cortex and, by stimulating the mood-boosting neurotransmitter – serotonin. Also, muscles become sore for those intensely pushing themselves during training. So, enter CBD. The nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and their small nerve endings, which works with the endocrine system. The endocrine system regulates all the functions of the entire body by releasing hormones that produce a physical response to achieve general homeostasis. Thus, additional beneficial effects of CBD include release of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and decreased cortisol (as stated earlier in a previous article in this issue).

Another part of the brain is the hypothalamus, which regulates homeostasis and links the endocrine and nervous system. And, it is believed also links the body’s endocannabinoid system as well. This is accomplished by producing releasing and inhibiting hormones that stop and start the production of other hormones throughout the body. Research has shown that the hypothalamus contains cannabinoid receptors. Cannabinoids such as CBD bind to these receptors to help regulate homeostasis.

The evidence linking CBD is improved homeostasis is mounting daily. Thus, in addition to practicing proper nutrition and supplement intake, getting adequate rest, staying properly hydrated and just practicing good health, the addition of CBD to your supplement and nutritional program should help you improve your performance in training or out. Balance is the key, taking all things in moderation. So, investigate CBD and determine if it is right for you.

Sleep is a very complex neurological phenomenon. Generally, the conscious mind is shut down during sleep, however, there are thousands of processes that are ongoing within your through regions of the brain. These processes include respiratory rate, heartbeat, as well as the consolidation of skills learned and long-term or short-term memories. And, as you know, there are different stages of sleep, especially healthy sleep. Each of these stages distinct and unique brainwave patterns.

Let’s looks at the two basic categories of sleep: REM and NREM. The term REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement; it is the sleep phase in which dreams occur and is characterized by rapid movement of the eyes. The other category of sleep – NREM – means non-REM and therefore encompasses every other phase of sleep. During NREM, there are, as far as scientists have determined, no dreams or rapid eye movement. During REM sleep, a typical brain scan will reveal brain waves and patterns that resemble those of an individual who is awake. This is simply because the subconscious mind is constantly processing all of the information that it absorbed during the day and recreating certain themes or emotions as dreams. Although, you may not remember these dreams.

How does CBD affect the Sleep Processes?
Cannabidiol (CBD) appears to function in many different areas of the brain. However, one of the primary benefits of CBD comes from its antagonization of CB1 receptors in the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for higher thought processes, as well as cognition and is the part of the brain that contains two basic types of neurons – excitatory and inhibitory. What are these and what do they do?

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Excitatory neurons, “go lights” for your brain (often termed green lights), receive signals from only one or two neurons. They then pass the received signal onto hundreds or perhaps thousands, which in turn, then do the same thing. The result is that this process significantly amplifies the signal and is responsible for substantial brain activity since there are billions of neurons in your brain.

Inhibitory neurons, “stop lights” for you brain (often termed red lights), work in the opposite way. The stop lights take signals from many hundreds of neurons, but they only pass it onto a few. This, as you may guess, significantly reduces brain activity, which is why the brain is good at modulating excitation and inhibition. This latter two processes can keep one level headed. However, if you become very frightened or angry, this whole process reverses.

From the explanation above, one can observe that CBD works by stopping the activity of “green light” neurons and boosting the activity of “red light” neurons. This is because CBD triggers the release of “red light” chemicals in “green light” cells, and the release of “green light” chemicals in “red light” cells. Interestingly, it does the same exact thing to both types of cell, but they simply respond in different ways to the presence of CBD. This is because the circadian rhythms of the brain regulate this process on a 24 hour basis. Therefore, CBD should be thought of as a lubricant for the complex circadian rhythm, allowing it to work its best.
How does CBD pertain to sleep?

We have already discussed that sleep is a very complicated function of the brain. And, while each of us have developed circadian rhythms (common among all people) that regulate our sleep and wakefulness, these rhythms are tied to daylight and eating patterns, as well as other processes in the body. Therefore, when there is over-excitation in the brain, especially in the prefrontal cortex, the ‘wake’ period of the circadian rhythm is prolonged. During this prolonged period, sleep is reduced. An overactive brain, daily stress, and the addition of stimulants like caffeine or ADHD medication can all cause this.

Cannabidiol has a balancing effect on your excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the prefrontal cortex of the brain helping to stabilize and better regulate your body’s natural circadian rhythms. Thus, CBD will help you sleep longer and more restful. Part of this process is accomplished by causing drowsiness by inhibiting the re-uptake of melatonin in the prefrontal cortex and, by stimulating the mood-boosting neurotransmitter – serotonin.

So, whether you’re thinking pre or post-workout, trying to stay healthy or gain muscle mass, it is possible that CBD may be able to play an important role in your goals, all without getting high. It has been touted by many as a wonder drug due to the over 113 compounds in hemp plants.

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As a pain reliever, CBD has excellent healing properties as an anti-inflammatory. It all stimulates a healthy appetite, which is great for that post-workout meal. And, for pain reduction after a grueling workout or even competitive competition. But, it doesn’t stop there, you can also use it pre-workout for nagging pains that linger from your last workout. The reason it works is because reduces cortisol in your system. By doing so, it can help you increase your workout intensity for more gain. Let’s explore cortisol just a little.

What is Cortisol?
Cortisol is generally called the “stress hormone” due to its connection to stress response within the body. However, cortisol is much more than just a hormone released during stress. Cortisol is one of the steroid hormones in your body and is made in the adrenal glands. Most cells within the body have cortisol receptors. Secretion of the cortisol is controlled by the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal gland, this combination of glands is most often referred to as the HPA axis.

What does Cortisol Do?
Because most bodily cells have cortisol receptors, it affects many different functions in the body. What’s that? You often workout intensely and do not know that cortisol can help control blood-sugar levels, regulate metabolism, help reduce inflammation, and assist in memory formulation. Cortisol has a controlling effect on your body’s salt and water balance and helps also to control blood pressure. In women, cortisol support fetus development during pregnancy. All of these functions make cortisol a crucial hormone to protect overall health and well-being. But, as good as it is, high-levels of cortisol can be harmful, and this is where CBD can help. The function is not entirely clear, but it helps in the interdependence of receptors, which spread both beneficial and harmful effects – negating overproduction of cortisol in the latter.

Problems associated with High Cortisol Levels
Sometimes tumors on the pituitary or adrenal glands can contribute to a condition known as the Cushing syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by high levels of cortisol in the blood. If you get this syndrome, you will generally experience rapid weight gain in the abdomen, face, and chest. This can be noticed by slender legs and arms compared to core weight, i.e., the proportion of the latter is generally significantly more. The Cushing syndrome also causes a flushed face, high blood pressure, and changes in the skin. Additionally, osteoporosis and mood swings can accompany this syndrome. Therefore, high cortisol levels also can contribute to changes in a woman’s libido and menstrual cycle, even without the presence of Cushing disease. Anxiety and depression are sometimes also be linked to high cortisol levels.

The Effects of Low Cortisol Levels
Low cortisol levels can cause a condition known as primary adrenal insufficiency and if low enough, the Addison disease. Although rare, primary adrenal insufficiency is an autoimmune disease that causes damage to the adrenal glands. You do not want the latter if you’re trying to build a great body or make progress in your fitness. Symptoms generally start slowly, but can be quite serious. Patients with primary adrenal insufficiency can experience fatigue, muscle loss, mood swings, weight loss, and other symptoms such as changes to the skin. Now, you begin to see the benefit of CBD as both a pre- and post-workout body-fuel component. Thus, CBD can also be used pre-workout to reduce pain sensitivity as well as reduce cortisol, helping you go harder during your workout.

CBD Benefits and My Exercise Routine?
Cannabidiol is non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in the hemp/marijuana plants that is known for its many medical benefits. Unlike Tetrahydrocannabinol, (THC), CBD does not cause a high. Therefore, a great many people have begun integrating CBD into their fitness regimen, primarily, pre and post workout use. The main reason for this increased use is that CBD has many properties that make it a good supplement for the health conscious, which has been described in part above and in the other articles in this issue of My Health Express. Whether you use it as a pre- or post-workout aid for recovery, many push the benefits. However, the benefits may vary whether pre- or post-workout.

What are the benefits of CBD as a Pre-Workout Supplement?
Past research has indicated that CBD is an analgesic, which means it effectively relieves pain. Not only research, but large amounts of anecdotal evidence also suggest this. The ability to reduce sensitivity to pain can help one greatly increase intensity during a workout. And, after all, this is also one of the effects of steroid use, but without the ill effects. Thus, less pain signals from the muscles generally result in better gain.

In addition to pain relief, CBD also can be used as an energy and mood booster. This is because CBD acts as an antidepressant and demonstrates anti-anxiety effects. This effect helps one feel more invigorated, positive, energized and motivated. Not only will this lead to more intense workouts, but can help one shake the depression they may find themselves in. There is some evidence that those with manic depressive/bipolar disorder can benefit from CBD.

Additionally, CBD will act as an anti-catabolic during the pre-workout. The catabolic hormones act to break down muscle tissue. And, as you know, this is the opposite of what one wants during a workout. Interestingly, one important catabolic hormone is cortisol (described in detail above). Thus, as you now know, this is a huge benefit. In summary, the key pre-workout benefits of CBD include: decreased cortisol levels and thus, less muscle breakdown; reduces sensitivity to pain, increases your energy, and helps motivate you.

What are the benefits of CBD as a Post-Workout Supplement”
The post-workout is where most people use CBD. As a post-workout supplement the major benefits of CBD include reduced muscle soreness and inflammation, appetite stimulation, and body relaxation. Because of the anti-inflammatory properties, which help relieve pain, CBD can thus, help you recover faster after workout and often not only reduce, but eliminate the onset of muscle soreness. Although not clear at present, CBD appears to reduce lactic acid buildup among cells.

One of the primary factors in building muscle and keeping it is getting plenty of rest, especially the proverbial 8 hours of sleep each night. As a key factor of post-workout recovery, sufficient rest is imperative. And, you will be happy to know that CBD will help you relax and drift into that restful state more quickly at night as you go to sleep. Because muscle recovery takes place while you sleep, the effects from CBD can also help you build muscle. Finally, we all know the importance of consuming sufficient amounts of protein after a workout to help build muscle thus, for those that find it difficult to eat after a workout, the ability of CBD to improve appetite should help you in your quest to finally build the muscle you have struggled to obtain.

Epidermis
The epidermis is the outer layer of skin – the part you see. And, it’s the main barrier, the physical barrier for keeping out infection via bacteria and other sources. It also contains nerve endings to sense pain, as well as melanin-producing cells that give you your skin pigmentation.

Dermis
This layer is thicker than the epidermis and is the base for sweat glands, nerve cells, sebaceous glands (they produce the oil that helps cover our skin), and hair follicles. It is comprised mostly of collagen, reticular fibers, and elastic tissue that gives it flexible strength. This layer also includes efferent (control rather than sense) neurons that govern capillary dilation and lymph networks to help protect the body from infections from cuts, bites, scrapes and other injuries.

Hypodermis (subcutis)
This is the deepest layer of the skin, underlying the other two layers. If you get a blister, this layer becomes exposed, which can be a problem. It is because this layer has even more immune-system tissue, fact cells (these provide insulation from external temperatures, padding from injury and storage of fuel for activities).

Endocannabinoid System in the Skin
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is the sum of all the cannabinoid receptors and endogenous ligands (like anandamide) that bind to the receptors, as well as their biosynthetic pathways, and degrading enzymes. However, it’s not just the effects of this system short and long term or just the receptor to ligand binding. It’s more about homeostasis.

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There is a mountain of evidence, termed anecdotal evidence and that is homeostasis related, that demonstrate positive results of phytocannabinoid treatment, i.e., plant CBD’s. These homeostasis-related conditions seem to have no known cause or cure. And for this reason, endocannabinoid modulation has proven to be highly effective for treatment of many diverse conditions. Of note is skin and hair growth.

Skin and Hair Growth
One of the better-understood roles of the ECS in the skin is hair production via hair follicles and the sebaceous glands associated with them. What is unique is that the latter have a high percentage of CB1 receptors, which are responsive to the endocannabinoid AEA (anandamide) and to phyto-cannabinoids like THC and CBC. Hair growth shows a negative correlation with activation of these receptors, so scientists believe that the ECS controls human hair growth via a negative feedback loop. This process is currently undefined thus, an ECS explanation is logical.

While most people are familiar with THC and CBD, there are many chemicals in marijuana that contribute to its diverse effects on the human body. These effects include protecting neurons from damage, pain relief, suppressing nausea and vomiting, and many more. Cannabichromene (CBC) is an important chemical in marijuana and, it demonstrates the complexity of how the cannabis plant works.

Immuno-stimulation
Although the ECS plays a very intricate and sophisticated role in the immune system, the precise mechanisms of its various roles are not well documented. However, we do know that ECS regulates (up and or down) the overall level of cellular activity in immune cells, and it also regulates the rate at which apoptosis, or programmed cell death occurs, which is a vital function of the skin and its ability to remain pliable, flexible, and youthful.

Additionally, the skin also is prone to inflammation and allergic reactions because it is often the first to meet foreign substances. Due to climate, water, temperature, etc., the ECS plays a very robust role in the down-regulation of chemokines and cytokines that produce inflammation and the pain associated with it. Localized topical cannabinoid treatment of allergy-induced inflammatory responses (such as putting CBD on hives) diminished the symptoms of inflammation immediately, in a CB1 dependent manner, proving that cannabinoid receptors are involved in the negative feedback of painful inflammatory responses. A similar reaction occurs when CBD skin lotions are applied, which helps firm and moisturizes the skin due to ECS reactions that typical skin lotions cannot match. We’ll do an article later that gets more into the science of this phenomena.