Could adding CBD to a daily routine help ease anxious thoughts and even sharpen focus? Research says yes.
If you’ve ever lain awake at night replaying the same worries, or felt your chest tighten before even simple tasks, you’re not alone. Anxiety affects millions, and for many, it’s more than “just stress.” It’s the constant sense of being on edge, the racing mind that won’t switch off, and the fatigue that follows you everywhere.
People try therapy, medications, lifestyle changes, and sometimes still feel trapped. That’s why interest in CBD has grown so quickly.
Could it really make a difference? A study set out to explore that question by testing a full-spectrum CBD formula in people living with moderate to severe anxiety. The results are worth a closer look.
What Taking CBD Looked Like
Researchers enrolled 14 adults with anxiety and gave them a CBD sublingual liquid (full-spectrum cannabidiol) to take three times a day for four weeks. Unlike some studies, there was no placebo group; everyone took the CBD product.
Before and after treatment, the participants completed anxiety questionnaires, reported on mood, sleep, and daily quality of life, and also performed cognitive tests measuring focus, attention, and memory.
The goal was simple: would daily CBD not only ease anxiety but also leave thinking and memory intact or even improved?
What Changed After Four Weeks
By the end of the study, the results painted a promising picture:
- Anxiety dropped significantly. On every major scale used in psychiatry, like the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), participants’ anxiety scores were lower.
- Relief came quickly. Many participants noticed improvement within the first week.
- Everyone responded by week 3. By the third week, 100% of participants had improved by at least 15% in their anxiety scores.
- Better sleep and mood. Beyond just anxiety, participants reported sleeping better, feeling more positive, and experiencing a higher quality of life.
- Sharper focus. On cognitive tasks, participants performed better on executive function tests (skills like switching attention, problem-solving, and focus). Memory stayed stable, no sign of cognitive decline.
- Mild side effects. A few people reported drowsiness, dry mouth, or feeling extra energized, but there were no serious adverse events and no reports of feeling “high.”
Why This Matters If You Struggle with Anxiety
For anyone who’s lived with anxiety, these findings offer hopeful takeaways:
- Relief without sedation. Many anxiety medications work, but at the cost of side effects like brain fog or fatigue. Here, participants felt calmer and kept their mental sharpness.
- Faster results. Relief showing up within the first week is rare for many standard treatments, which can take weeks to build up.
- Quality of life improvements. Less anxiety didn’t just mean fewer symptoms; it meant better sleep and better moods, which ripple into every area of daily life.
- Safe and tolerable. While CBD isn’t for everyone, side effects were generally mild, making it easier to stick with.
A Closer Look at Thinking and Focus
One of the more unique parts of this study was its focus on cognition. Many people worry that calming supplements or medications will dull their mental edge. Here’s what the researchers found instead:
- On the Stroop test (which measures how quickly you can filter distractions and focus), participants were faster after CBD.
- On other executive function tasks, scores improved, suggesting CBD didn’t just “calm nerves,” it also helped people stay clear-headed.
- Memory stayed steady. There was no decline in short-term or working memory, easing concerns about brain fog.
What This Could Mean for Your Everyday Life
Picture this: starting your day without that pit-in-the-stomach anxiety. Being able to walk into a meeting without your thoughts spiraling. Finally sleeping through the night without waking up three times in a sweat. And doing all of that without losing focus or feeling dulled.
That’s what the results of this study hint at: CBD might help people regain both calm and clarity.
Original Study Section
Title: Clinical and cognitive improvement following full-spectrum, high-cannabidiol treatment for anxiety: open-label data from a two-stage, phase 2 clinical trial
Date: November 2022
Authors: Mary Kathryn Dahlgren, Ashley M. Lambros, Rosemary T. Smith, Kelly A. Sagar, Celine El-Abboud & Staci A. Gruber
Link to Study: Read on Nature