CBD Effects: Does CBD Affect Men and Women Differently?

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Women and men are obviously different in many ways – from body size and shape right down to the ways our body works. And it’s these differences and our built-in endocannabinoid systems that determine how CBD will behave in our bodies.

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is naturally occurring in the body and helps regulate things like sleep, mood and appetite. Thanks to research, we know now that the ECS has receptors throughout the body that CBD can interact with. The precise way CBD works is still being studied, but we know it's essential!

It varies between men and women, but the ECS is essentially a map of receptors that runs through our brain, central nervous system, organs and our immune system. Hormones are crucial to how CBD interacts with the ECS and why CBD may affect women differently than men. Let’s look at what hormones CBD interacts with and what potential wellness benefits there are for women and men.

How CBD Affects Women

Surveys have found that men and women are pretty much split down the middle on their top reasons for using CBD, including; relaxation, stress relief, and improving sleep. But research also found that women were more likely to take CBD to improve their overall health and wellness, while men ranked higher in using CBD in social situations.

Alleviates PMS Symptoms

Ask just about any woman, and she'll likely say PMS is the worst. Cramps, mood swings, bloating, nausea and anxiety are a few of many symptoms women experience each month leading up to their period.

Early evidence indicates that CBD may help improve PMS symptoms. The hormone estrogen easily breaks down and absorbs cannabinoids like CBD, enhancing its effects. CBD then taps into the body’s ECS to help regulate estrogen levels, which in turn can help tone down some of the unpleasant and erratic symptoms of PMS.

Improves Sex Drive

A major complaint from menopausal women is a decreased libido – or desire to have sex. When menopause hits your estrogen levels drop, which can lead to decreased arousal and often times painful sex for women. That’s where CBD can help. As we mentioned, CBD can give estrogen an extra boost, which in turn may improve libido. If you’re using CBD as a complementary treatment for these symptoms, make sure to do your research or speak to your doctor beforehand because while low amounts of CBD can improve your sex drive, higher doses could do the opposite.

CBD And Anxiety

Chances are you know someone dealing with an anxiety disorder. If it’s in the UK, it’s probably a woman because they’re twice as likely to be diagnosed as men. It has a tremendous impact on how you function affecting work, home life and relationships. Studies have shown that CBD can significantly help with anxiety and stress, making it easier to handle in your day-to-day life. Amphora has a Peace  effect based vape cartridge, specifically formulated to help find a sense of balance.

How CBD Affects Men

While men may take CBD for similar reasons, women do, their experiences are different. If you’ve searched for any sort of CBD-related products, you’ve probably noticed a lot of it is marketed towards women. Despite that, research has found that men are more likely to try CBD than women and are more than twice as likely to use it regularly. Like women, men also turn to natural CBD products to help with things like pain relief, better sleep, and reducing stress.

Helps Regulate Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a huge problem. More men have high blood pressure compared to women, which puts them at a higher risk for heart disease and stroke according to the Centres for Disease Control. A recent study found that even just one dose of CBD oil helped reduce the resting blood pressure of male participants after a stress test.

Researchers suggest that the antioxidants in CBD could work to reduce inflammation, which decreases anxiety and stress that causes high blood pressure.

Improves Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common issue that men deal with that increases with age. Just as CBD oil is supposed to improve a woman’s libido, it may also help with ED in men. The causes of ED are complicated, but the research so far shows that CBD may help with the psychological aspect of it.  

If you’ve been told “it’s all in your head,” that’s not exactly helpful when you’re dealing with this problem. Studies have shown that THC — which possesses psychoactive properties that CBD doesn't — may actually heighten anxiety in men. At the same time, CBD lowers anxiety, which in turn can improve performance anxiety in the bedroom.

How Do I Know Which CBD Product Is Right For Me?

The regulations around CBD are continually changing, and being a relatively new and exceedingly popular product in the UK, many companies market CBD products that aren’t compliant with UK regulations. You have to make sure that you're getting a safe product.

At Amphora, we list all of our certificates of analysis online. These show that our products have been tested by a third-party to show that they're safe and actually have what we've listed as the ingredients in there.

We also use broad-spectrum, distillate products that give you the full benefit of the cannabis plant. Our products are 100% organic, and we don't use any dangerous additives.

Broad-spectrum or distillate CBD oil contains all the fantastic natural elements found in the cannabis plant including CBD, other cannabinoids, essential oils, terpenes and flavonoids. It also has absolutely all the THC removed, the psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis plants. The THC can be no more than 0.2% in full-spectrum CBD oil to be legal in the UK.  People prefer broad-spectrum or distillate because it produces the entourage effect, which enhances the benefits of CBD without the psychoactive effects of THC.

Men and women definitely have differences in how our bodies function and react to stressors. But as you can see, both men and women may be able to benefit from adding CBD to their wellness routine.