College is stressful – this phrase may be trite, but it is true nonetheless. Many students, myself included, tend to turn towards copious amounts of caffeine in an attempt to squelch our anxieties.
This leads to even more tension due to the shakiness and irritability associated with excessive energy drink, soda, and coffee drinking.
This can be further exasperated when paired with amphetamines such as Adderall, which tend to be consumed on a fairly regular basis on college campuses (even more so around midterms and finals.)
But luckily, there is a way for college students to reduce anxiety and stress – infusing coffee with CBD hemp oil, or taking CBD oil shortly before drinking that strong cup of coffee we all know and love (and tend to rely on.)
The lack of adverse side effects of CBD oil is one of the reasons many people tend to take it – not to mention the anti-anxiety, pain relief, and anti-inflammatory properties this oil produces.
As mentioned before, it may seem like the “right move” to pop an Adderall and drink a few energy drinks to complete that 10-page term paper, but this can only exacerbate the feelings of anxiety and stress that were already occurring.
Pairing coffee with CBD oil may seem like a bit of an oxymoron; why would you match something like CBD oil (which relaxes you) with a stimulant-filled beverage like coffee? Well, the results may surprise you, and give you a boost of energy and release of stress.
The over-consumption of CBD oil can make you feel drowsy or lethargic – one of the ways around this is to lessen your usual dose of the oil.
If you usually take 30mg, per say, decreasing your dose to 15 or even 20mg can help reduce this feeling of drowsiness you want to avoid while typing up a paper or studying for a test.
After all, CBD is a substance that has biphasic properties, meaning taking less can lead to more positive side effects when paired with something like coffee.
The pairing of CBD oil and coffee is a marriage of two great outcomes; a feeling of relaxation and that “on-your-feet” feeling coffee gives you. (It is important to note, however, that it doesn’t have to be coffee for all of you coffee haters out there: CBD oil can be paired with yerba mate, or even caffeinated teas to produce the same effect.)
You may be asking yourself: “so do I put the CBD oil in my coffee or simply take it before or after?” The answer, simply put, is it’s up to you. Let me take you back to the fall semester of my freshman year of college. I was still new to the whole “college thing,” so the concept of college-level exams petrified me.
One of my friends who was in the same boat turned me on to CBD oil, saying it saved him from a lot of unnecessary anxiety related to finals. Hesitantly, yet excitedly, I started with 10mg of CBD oil, which I took via a dropper 25 minutes before I drank a cup of black coffee.
I found this combination to be the most useful for me. Right as the CBD oil is kicking in and I become slightly lethargic, I drink a cup of coffee to counteract some of those sleepy feelings. But this combination doesn’t work for everyone…
Some people tend to do the exact opposite; rather than take CBD oil then drink coffee, some prefer to drink coffee, and as they start feeling jittery, use the oil to counteract those on-edge feelings.
It all comes down to a few things: how sensitive you are to caffeine, how sensitive you are to CBD oil, and how both interact once you’ve taken them.
The times can also vary; although caffeine and CBD are two substances, they can impact people in a lot more than two ways.
Some people feel more lethargic than others after taking CBD oil, and caffeine sensitivity varies greatly among college students and adults alike.
I have heard some people talk about taking CBD oil to feel more restful during the day, taking it a half hour or so before taking a short nap, followed by drinking coffee once they wake up.
I’ve tried this method a few times, and have found that taking CBD oil before a nap, especially on a stressful day, can greatly improve my sleep. Once I wake up, however, and it is time to tackle more of that day’s challenges, drinking a cup of coffee, as always, helps me regain my focus.
One misconception about CBD oil and coffee, however, is that people tend to want to add oil to their coffee or hot beverage such as tea or even hot cocoa. This, however, dramatically reduces the effectiveness of the oil.
Drinking coffee or another drink with oil reduces its bioavailability (basically how effective it is in your system) by about 20 percent.
When used separately from coffee, or in conjunction with it rather, the bioavailability of CBD oil tends to be around 20-30 percent.
But when mixed in with a drink, it drops to 5 percent. Although it may seem tempting to mix your oil with coffee, this will decrease its effectiveness.
Even though the phrase “experimentation” may sound frightening, this is how you have to find what works best for you regarding your coffee and CBD oil experience. Varying the amount and time will result in you feeling less stressed and having a boost of energy…who doesn’t need that in college?
