Like good gut health, a well-functioning metabolism can benefit your entire body. In addition to providing you with extra energy, a boosted metabolism may also help you burn more calories and sleep better during the night.
Essentially, the energy created by your metabolism supports your cognitive, respiratory, digestive and circulatory functions. As such, if your metabolism is functioning less optimally, you may start to feel yourself drag throughout the day.
While incorporating healthy exercise, sleep and eating habits into your daily life can aid your metabolic function, CBD may also support your wellness. In this guide, we’ll explore your metabolism’s role and how you can incorporate CBD to improve your energy levels.
What Is Your Metabolism?
You’ve probably overheard someone saying that they have a “slow metabolism” compared to a “fast metabolism,” which typically means one can eat large amounts of calories without gaining weight.
However, your metabolism plays a far greater role in your body than simple weight management.
Think of your metabolism as your body’s way of managing its energy — it decides when to burn calories and when to save them for later, providing your body with the power and fuel that it needs to go about your day.
When you eat food, your metabolism converts the calories into energy, which is stored in your cells. Your metabolism then determines just how your body uses that energy, as well as when to use it and how much to use. With that said, metabolism consists of two unique activities:
- Anabolism – The body’s process of producing new cells, storing energy and keeping itself running smoothly
- Catabolism – The body’s way of breaking down the energy stored in cells during anabolism and using this energy to move, think and talk. Essentially, it consists of anything active that your body does!
Your metabolism isn’t just a set rate — it’s shaped by a number of different factors and variables that are unique to each individual. To that end, here are six elements that can have an impact on your metabolism.
1. Genetic background
While your genes don’t necessarily set your metabolism in stone, they can definitely have a strong influence on how it functions. Your genes also determine how tall you’re going to be, which definitely plays a major role in your metabolism. Those who have more muscle mass will have greater caloric needs and burn energy faster.
2. Age
As we move through life, our metabolism shifts to support what our body needs at that stage. When we’re in phases of rapid growth, like our early or teenage years when most people experience growth spurts, our calorie needs spike to provide our growing bodies with the energy they need. However, as we get older, our metabolisms tend to slow down.
3. Gender
Gender can play a major role in the speed of your metabolism. Men typically have more lean muscle mass than women, which burns more calories when at rest compared to fat. On the other hand, women’s bodies tend to store more fat so their metabolisms are often slower.
4. Exercise
The amount and types of exercises you perform have a major effect on metabolism. Your body has a basal metabolic rate, which is the number of calories your body needs to perform its most basic functions, like thinking, sleeping, circulating blood, digesting and breathing.
This makes up about 60–70% of the calories that your body burns, while the rest is burned from movement. The more you move your body, the more energy you’ll need, which can boost your metabolism.
Certain types of exercise can also lead to a faster metabolism in the long run. If you opt for strength-building exercises that build muscle, like weightlifting or bodyweight exercises, you’ll create more lean muscle in your body. Lean muscle burns more energy at rest than fat, and it makes up 20% of your body’s basal metabolic rate versus fat tissue’s 3%.
5. Sleep
The role that sleep plays in regulating your metabolism is often undervalued. Sleep is extremely important — it gives your body a chance to rest and recover and time to build new cells and tissues. It also provides your body with energy to perform daily movements and regulate blood sugar levels.
As such, aim for seven to nine hours of restful, uninterrupted sleep each night if you’re looking to support your metabolism. To bolster your sleep, a CBD oil or CBD gummies may help to relax your body before bed.
6. Diet
While diet plays a vital role in weight loss, there’s no one superfood or fad diet that can turbocharge your metabolism or appetite. Instead of looking for a quick fix, strive for a diet that includes:
- Whole grains
- Lean proteins like eggs, chicken breast and fish
- Fresh fruits and vegetables, especially dark, leafy greens like kale or broccoli
- Healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, seeds or avocados
- Plenty of water to keep you hydrated and healthy
Additionally, try to steer clear from added sugars, saturated fats, white fat, brown fat, sweetened drinks like sodas or juices, excess alcohol consumption and starchy foods made with white flour.
Although none of these factors is the key to shifting your metabolism, they all work in concert to create your body’s set metabolic rate.
How CBD May Support Your Metabolism
While CBD only contains trace amounts of THC — no more than 0.3% to be exact — you may still be wondering how long does CBD stay in your system? And can CBD boost metabolism functions? Most likely! While aging and weight gain is inevitable, you can take steps to support your sleep, diet, exercise and stress management with CBD.
How to Manage Stress With CBD
Everyone gets stressed out from time to time. Work woes, relationship issues and day-to-day responsibilities can often lead to feeling pressure and moments of nervousness.
But did you know that your stressed-out state might have an impact on your metabolism?
When you’re feeling stressed, it can have a physical impact on your body, causing your adrenal glands to produce more cortisol. This is known as the stress hormone and is linked to your body’s “fight or flight” response.
High cortisol levels may cause your metabolism to slow down and may lead your body to seek easily accessible energy sources like sugary foods or greasy fast food. When eaten in excess, this sugar is turned into body fat, which can slow your metabolism.
Does CBD calm the nervous system though? Luckily, CBD may help to calm your body. More specifically, when ingested, CBD interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system. This system consists of a vast network of neurotransmitters called endocannabinoids that bind to receptors called CB1 and CB2.
When CBD enters the body, it interacts with these receptors to help support the regulation of many bodily functions, including metabolism and nervous system responses.
You might consider trying a CBD product to help soothe feelings of tension, like Zebra CBD’s Tension and Stress Tablets. Specially designed to balance the mind and ease tension, these tablets pair premium hemp extract with soothing L-theanine, which may help you unwind and feel relaxed. By staying mellow and unstressed, you can better support your metabolism.
In addition to CBD, you can help to relieve stress and keep your metabolism in tip-top shape by:
- Journaling
- Meditating and practicing breathwork
- Talking to a trusted friend or therapist
- Performing low impact exercises like walking, swimming or yoga
- Spending time in nature
How to Support Sleep With CBD
Getting a good night’s rest each night can do wonders for your body — especially your metabolism. Poor sleep may lead to an increase in the hormones ghrelin and leptin that drive appetite and affect insulin resistance, which can impact your metabolic rate.
Additionally, a poor night’s sleep may cause you to have less energy to work out and cook healthy meals. Adults are recommended to have seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
This sleep should also be uninterrupted — if you’re tossing and turning throughout the night or continually waking up, you might not be going through a full REM cycle and getting the deep, restorative sleep that your body needs for optimal health.
To support your sleep cycles, enlist the help of CBD. Sleep is vital to help your body maintain homeostasis, energy levels and cognitive function. And your endocannabinoid system works to do the same.
As such, adding a CBD product like Zebra CBD’s Sleep Support CBD + CBN Gummies may support more restful sleep. But, does CBD oil tighten skin while you sleep as well? Not exactly. However, it may offer additional benefits, such as helping manage dryness and other types of irritation.
Formulated with restful melatonin and CBN (which is known as the “sleepy cannabinoid”), these gummies may make a soothing addition to your sleep hygiene routine.
Additionally, you can build a routine of solid sleep hygiene habits to help your metabolism feel healthy and energized. For a good night of sleep, try the following tips:
- Cut down on late-night tech use – Devices with blue light can keep your brain feeling wired far past its bedtime. Instead of using your phone or watching TV before going to bed, try a more restful activity like reading or journaling. For optimal sleep hygiene, try keeping your phone in another room and use an alarm clock to wake up.
- Set a schedule – While you might be tempted to stay up late on weekend evenings and sleep in late the following mornings, it’s best for your body if you go to sleep and wake up at roughly the same times every day.
- Make a calming bedtime routine – Before bed, try some calming activities like gentle stretching or meditation, applying a face mask, brewing a cup of caffeine-free tea or reading a book.
How to Encourage Movement With CBD
Exercise plays a major role in healthy metabolism. While you move in everyday life by walking and performing daily tasks like cooking or brushing your teeth, it’s important to exercise regularly to maintain your body’s good health.
Exercise may help us live longer and healthier — and the endorphins it gives may also elevate your mood.
Additionally, topical CBD products may provide immediate relief of joint and muscle discomfort from exercise, allowing you to exercise consistently and comfortably.
Boost Your Metabolism With Zebra CBD
Your metabolism is complicated and unique to you. However, you can help to boost it by incorporating simple, healthy behaviors like reducing stress, getting great sleep and exercising consistently.
Zebra CBD is here to support you on your journey toward a healthy metabolism.
Our products, made with premium hemp extract in the USA, may help you to manage your nerves, sleep deeply and exercise comfortably. Browse our products today to jumpstart your wellness routine.
Sources:
MedlinePlus. Can you boost your metabolism? https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000893.htm
The Beet. Survey: 50% of Americans Want to Lose Weight and Feel Healthier in 2021. https://thebeet.com/survey-half-of-americans-want-to-feel-healthier-and-lose-weight-in-2021/
Forbes. 4 Reasons to Make New Years’ Resolutions (Even if You Don’t Keep Them). https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/12/31/4-reasons-to-make-new-years-resolutions-even-if-you-dont-keep-them/?sh=373da3c866a1
WebMD. What is Metabolism? https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/what-is-metabolism
Healthline. What is Basal Metabolic Rate? https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-basal-metabolic-rate
Vox. Most of Us Misunderstand Metabolism. https://www.vox.com/2016/5/18/11685254/metabolism-definition-booster-weight-loss
Verywell Mind. How Stress Can Cause Weight Gain. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-stress-can-cause-weight-gain-3145088
Healthline. Emotional Eating. https://www.healthline.com/health/emotional-eating
The Sleep Foundation. Sleep and Weight Loss. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-health/weight-loss-and-sleep
