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(Photo by Mayara Klingner via Pexels)<\/p>\n
By Talker<\/p>\n
By Stephen Beech<\/p>\n
Regular cannabis users wake up with more of the “stress hormone” in their system, reveals new research.<\/p>\n
Cannabis is commonly used<\/a> by many to help relieve stress.<\/p>\n But the study suggests that while weed may provide some short-term stress relief, chronic use might negatively affect stress-response systems over time \u2014 leading people into a cycle of more drug use.<\/p>\n Researchers from Oregon State University<\/a> (OSU) discovered that people who often use cannabis<\/a> start their day with higher levels of cortisol than people who don’t.<\/p>\n They say their findings, published in the journal Cannabis<\/a>, indicate a relationship between frequent use of the drug and a possible “dysregulation” of the body’s daily stress rhythms.<\/p>\n (Photo by Kindel Media via Pexels)<\/p>\n The study is one of the first to examine the link between frequent cannabis use and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the major system that governs the body’s response to stress.<\/p>\n Almost three in 10 adults aged 19 to 30 in the U.S. (29%) report having used cannabis in the previous 30 days, a figure that has nearly doubled over the past 15 years.<\/p>\n Over 10% of that age group report using cannabis 20 or more times in 30 days \u2014 more than twice the percentage seen 15 years ago.<\/p>\n Study leader Anita Cservenka<\/a>, of OSU’s College of Liberal Arts, emphasized that the research doesn’t prove frequent cannabis use causes people to wake up with higher cortisol levels, or vice versa.<\/p>\n She said: “We would need to study the same groups of people over a longer period of time to understand any cause and effect relationship, but we think this provides an important starting point.”<\/p>\n (Photo by Kampus Production via Pexels)<\/p>\n By Talker<\/p>\n Cservenka explained that hormones are the body’s chemical messengers and cortisol is a hormone produced in the adrenal glands.<\/p>\n Nicknamed the “stress hormone” because it is released when people find themselves under pressure, cortisol assists in fighting infection, maintaining blood pressure and regulating blood sugar and metabolism.<\/p>\n Cservenka says cortisol is beneficial for dealing with stress in the short term.<\/p>\n But prolonged periods of high cortisol levels can have harmful effects on the body, such as an increased risk of anxiety<\/a>, depression and heart disease.<\/p>\n Cservenka and her colleagues centered their cannabis-cortisol study around what’s commonly known as CAR, or cannabis awakening response.<\/p>\n She said: “CAR is the cortisol rise that all people experience in the morning, peaking around 30 minutes after they wake up.”<\/p>\n (Photo by cottonbro studio via Pexels)<\/p>\n By Talker<\/p>\n CAR is calculated by measuring someone’s cortisol right after they wake up, measuring it again 30 minutes later, then subtracting the first number from the second number.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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