By Joe Gressings
This is sponsored content and is not original content from Green Living Magazine.
It seems that golfers, like many professional athletes and performers, have discovered the groundbreaking benefits of CBD oil. It’s penetrated the U.S. golf arena in a big way, helping golfers stay calm, improve their focus, and reap the physical rewards of CBD.
What is it about CBD oil effects that have professional golfers so excited? And is it something an amateur golfer should try to improve their game?
What CBD Is, Where It Comes From, and How It Works
CBD is a shortened term for cannabidiol. It’s in the cannabis family, but unlike THC and marijuana, CBD that’s sold online legally throughout the United States won’t make you high. By law, it cannot contain more than 0.3 percent THC, which is the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis products that makes you high.
The hemp plant brings us CBD. It’s very high in the CBD compound and very low in THC. Using a process called CO2 extraction, chemists are able to remove THC entirely from the hemp plant so that only CBD remains. In some instances, CBD may contain as much as 0.3 percent THC, but that’s not enough to make you high.
It’s believed that CBD works because your body is full of cannabinoids. They send and receive messages for the endocannabinoid system, the structure in your body designed to regulate hormones and immune response.
When you use CBD, it increases the number of cannabinoids in the body, and thus, the level of control that the endocannabinoid system can exercise. The result is a better grasp on homeostasis for the entire body. In other words: You feel good all over without getting high.
How Golfers Are Using CBD Oil
Many golfers have discovered just how incredible this substance is, and they’re using it regularly to enhance their game and magnify their quality of life. You might recognize several CBD users among the professional golfing world, including Lucas Glover, Scott McCarron, Kenny Perry, Scott Piercy, Tom Kite, Bubba Watson, Vaughn Taylor, David Toms, DJ Trahan, and many others.
Better Night’s Sleep
Golfers need their sleep just as much as other athletes, even if they aren’t getting the same workout as a marathon runner or Olympic weightlifter. The physical strain is surprising for professional golfers who walk miles every day and swing with all their upper arm strength, and their muscles demand repair after grueling practice days.
Furthermore, sleep is essential for maintaining focus and preciseness with every shot. Tired golfers really struggle to stay on their game, but CBD has helped many golfers to regain their sleep.
In an ESPN interview, Scott McCarron shared that he noticed marked improvement in his sleep measurements when taking CBD. “I was taking the CBD oil, started on Monday, and had…fantastic sleep for seven days straight the first time I took this CBD oil at night to help me sleep.” He says he’s been using the product for two years now, and he continues to experience “fantastic sleep” that helps him to improve his game.
Reduced Performance Anxiety
The quiet suspense that surrounds a golf tournament runs deep in the veins of professional golfers. They can feel every eye on their backs and the stress of their opponents as they line up the perfect shot. But if they don’t keep their anxiety under control, they’ll make a mistake.
Performance anxiety plagues most athletes and can mess up even the most practiced of golfers. The best CBD oil sold is best known for its ability to tackle anxiety and help the user feel calm and relaxed in any situation. It doesn’t take away the focus or drive for success, but it can remove jitters that can cause a bad shot.
Less Physical Pain
As mentioned previously, the physical strain for today’s golfers is not light. Like other athletes, the muscles they use are stretched and torn during practice and performances, causing inflammation, pain, and stiffness. Pain from regular exercise or an injury can significantly damage one’s golf game, not to mention challenge sleep and focus.
There are many treatments for severe physical pain, including steroid treatments and opioid pain killers. These are addictive and harmful to the body. CBD has few long term side effects, and it is not habit-forming. Many patients suffering from pain use CBD as an effective replacement for more damaging pain killers.
For 2009 U.S. Open winner, Lucas Glover, CBD is a gamechanger. “I’ve always had some nagging, aching pains. Anxiety is something I had also fought. That was the real draw for me,” he described to Golf Today when discussing his CBD use.
Decreased Inflammation
Inflammation is very common for golfers who perform repetitive movements in their practice and performance. When the joints and muscles in one part of the body are used over and over, it causes severe inflammation and can develop into more serious conditions. It’s not uncommon for these repetitive motions to turn into arthritis.
CBD has been used for centuries to decrease inflammation. The immune response portion of the endocannabinoid system causes the muscles and tendons around an area that sees repetitive motion to inflame and often cause pain.
CBD’s influence on the endocannabinoid system has been linked to reduced inflammation in many patients. It’s a common treatment for those with rheumatoid arthritis, and it can be used for the everyday athlete as well.
The golf world is more competitive and intense than many people realize, and CBD could be the natural remedy that today’s over-pressured golfers need. It can be a highly effective aid in treating mental and physical ailments associated with excelling at the game.
