CBD continues to be a growing health and wellness interest for shoppers across the globe, particularly for sleep, anxiety, stress and pain troubles. Research from Alphagreen, Europe’s leading marketplace and technology provider, with a focus on CBD and other alternative healthcare products, shows that a third of shoppers are now buying CBD (33%) for pain relief, with 28% buying it for anxiety and 26% for sleep.
Coupled with this, new research has valued UK sales of CBD products at £450 million[1].The UK is now the 2nd biggest market for CBD products, only behind the USA and its massive population of 328 million.
In the following e-news brought to you by the science centre at Alphagreen we explore the very latest research on CBD across anxiety, pain and sleep and take a look at a shopper’s choice from Alphagreen for those wanting to try CBD for the first time.
Data from Alphagreen showing that more and more people are turning to CBD for pain troubles, sleep and anxiety issues is not surprising. A 2021 survey published in the Journal of Cannabis Research[2] evaluated the reasons for taking CBD and the resulting data found that respondents took CBD mainly for issues related to mental health, pain and overall wellbeing. The same survey included 387 CBD current or past CBD users, 61.2% of whom were women, mostly between 25 and 54 years old (72.2%) and mostly based in the UK (77.4%),
The top four reasons for using CBD noted in the same research study were:
- Self-perceived anxiety (42.6%)
- Sleep problems (42.5%)
- Stress (37%)
- General health and wellbeing, including pain (37%)
In those aged 55+, 42% were using CBD specifically for arthritic/joint pain.
The popularity of CBD can be explained by several factors, including a change in the regulatory landscape and the growing number of pre-clinical and clinical studies showing the health benefits. Since January 2019, the European Union (EU) has classified CBD as a novel food and countries across Europe, including the UK, are implementing the regulation, with consumer advice sorting fact from fiction across CBD more readily available.[3]
CBD, anxiety, stress, sleep and pain:
The research data emerging on the health benefits of CBD is the main influencer behind shoppers in the UK looking for CBD products to tackle and provide solutions to daily health and wellness needs. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognised that CBD has the potential to help health issues such as sleep, insomnia as well as anxiety.[4] We all need good sleep patterns every night to ensure our bodies heal, rest and are well fuelled for what life throws at it each day. Poor sleep has been linked to early death as well as serious health challenges from heart disease to cancer.
Studies over the last 30 years suggest that CBD might help with mental health issues. A small study from 1993 suggested that CBD reduced anxiety for people in stressful situations. [5] In another study published in Nature,[6] anxiety induced by public speaking in people with social anxiety disorder was reduced significantly by CBD. Pre-treatment with CBD significantly reduced anxiety, cognitive impairment and discomfort in their speech performance within the same study, and significantly decreased alert in their anticipatory speech. The placebo group presented higher anxiety, cognitive impairment, discomfort, and alert levels when compared with the control group. A further study suggested that CBD reduced the blood pressure response to stress.[7]
A 2020 study[8] found that CBD reduced anxiety in people with Parkinson’s disease subjected to a simulated public speaking test.
With regards to sleep and also pain, a 2020 New Zealand trial conducted in general practice amongst 397 people prescribed CBD oil found improvements in better sleep, and pain (where they had pain) as well as improvements in overall quality of health when CBD oil was taken.[9] A further study showed that the application of CBD oil (in the form of a cream) to the site of the pain has been shown to help people with back pain in a clinical setting.[10]
A growing number of sports stars and athletes are being drawn to CBD because of its potential help in anxiety, pain relief and healing. CBD has not demonstrated any potential for abuse or dependency and is considered well tolerated with a good safety profile, according to a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO).[11]
Ahead of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the world Anti-Doping Agency removed CBD from its list of banned substances in 2017, meaning that the approaching Olympic Games in Tokyo will be the first to allow athletes to use CBD during the competition.
The NFL (National Football League) and the players association (NFLPA) have offered $1 million for research aimed at better understanding cannabis and CBD as substitutes for opioid-based medicines for pain management. They are hoping to discover whether CBD can be used to improve pain and improve quality of life, without impacting on performance.
Say hello to Alphagreen: Shopper’s Choice
Founded in 2019, Alphagreen was created to simplify the entire experience with CBD and alternative healthcare products along every step of the shopper journey. Alphagreen offers a one-stop shop for trustworthy and effective CBD products in a wide range of formats, including pure CBD oil, chocolate infused CBD, gummies and flavoured oral strips, capsules, creams, lotions, massage oils and bath products.
The Alphagreen CBD sample kit (£40) is ideal for those new to CBD as well as veterans of the sector. It includes peach flavoured CBD Gummies with 25mg of CBD in each gummy and 10 gummies in a pack – the perfect sweet treat without the calories. For those looking for inner balance support and a post-workout recovery the same sample kit includes a classic vegan 10% CBD oil with 5mg of CBD in each drop.
Other CBD sample kits containing CBD oil, capsules and moisturising balm are also available from Alphagreen for those wanting to try a variety of CBD products. Check out Alphagreen’s beginners’ CBD bundle containing CBD Oil, CBD capsules, CBD Lip Balm and CBD gummies can be used as part of a daily supplement routine.
Customer quality and safety
All products within the sample Alphagreen kit and across the company’s marketplace are THC free, laboratory tested and produced to the same good manufacturing processes and practices as food supplements and over the counter health products. Ensuring customer safety sits as the heart of the Alphagreen marketplace. That is why all products sold across the Alphagreen marketplace are rigorously tested and meet the highest of quality standards.
About Alphagreen
The Alphagreen Group was born in London from a passion for health and wellbeing, combined with technology and innovation. The brainchild of entrepreneurs Alexej Pikovsky and Viktor Khliupko, Alphagreen, is Europe’s leading commercial platform and technology provider, focused on CBD and other alternative healthcare products.
Alphagreen provides a comprehensive marketplace for consumers, brands and retailers to come together within the wellness and beauty space. In a unique
symbiotic relationship, consumers have access to a huge choice of trustworthy and effective CBD products; manufacturers and brands can reach a vast marketplace of customers and retailers benefit from the wholesale channel, where they can be guided and supported in growing their own businesses. The wholesale channel includes access to Alphagreen Intelligence, the most comprehensive CBD intelligence tool. The business intelligence system incorporates a database of more than 3,000 CBD products and combines data from multiple sources including website traffic, product reviews and Google search analytics, plus brand websites and news articles. In short, it provides retailers with all the knowledge they need to be powerful and successful in the flourishing CBD, health and wellness sector.
Alphagreen has enjoyed phenomenal growth since its UK launch in 2019 and has grown from listing just four brands with 50 products to over 200 brands with more than 3,000 products. Nowhere else has a wider choice of quality CBD products. Alphagreen is also expanding into other on trend wellness industries, including medical cannabis and nootropics.
The Alphagreen marketplace includes top global cannabis brands such as Provocan, Cibdol, Endoca, Trip and Mr Nice. For more information see: https://alphagreen.io/
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidprosser/2020/05/11/uk-demand-for-cbd-products-soars-amid-covid-19-pandemic/
[2] Moltke J and Hindocha C (2021) https://jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42238-021-00061-5
[3] https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/cannabidiol-cbd
[4] www.who.int/medicines/access/controlled-substances/5.2_CBD.pdf
[5] Zuardi et al (1993). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22290374/
[6] Bergamashi M et al (2011) https://www.nature.com/articles/npp20116
[7] Jadoon et al (2017) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28614793/
[8] De Faria et al (2020) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269881119895536
[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32019776/
[10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32421842/
[11] Geneva CANNABIDIOL (CBD) . n.d. Critical Review Report Expert Committee on Drug Dependence Fortieth Meeting
