The past two years have blazed new trails when it comes to working from home. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people were cut off from their offices and forced to work remotely for the first time in their lives. While many embraced the new situation and came to enjoy their new work settings, it was definitely not without an adjustment period.
Now, as many jobs have permanently switched to work from home or a flex schedule where employees work from home several days a week, a lot of people are settling in for the long haul of the home office lifestyle.
The Challenges of Working from Home
Although working remotely from home brings with it a lot of conveniences and time saved by not commuting for hours to and from work, it also comes with some challenges. Common issues of people working remotely are:
- Collaboration and communication with team members
- Loneliness
- Not being able to effectively stop working at the end of the day
- Ample distractions not found in the office
- A lack of motivation to get the job done
Some of these problems can be solved with tools like Slack and Zoom, coupled with creative managers and flexible work set ups. However, the challenges that are related to distractions, motivation, and the ability to concentrate are more difficult to tackle. All of them can lead to a drastic drop in productivity, which can then lead to more stress which causes even more distractions and a further drop in productivity.
It’s a deadly cycle that can be difficult to escape from. But, as you may have guessed, many people are starting to turn to CBD to help with their work from home distraction and attention issues. Let’s take at look at why.
CBD and Concentration While Working
Whether at work or just for everyday life, more and more people are beginning to take CBD for concentration. With a wide range of products available nowadays, from tinctures to capsules to gummies, it’s easier than ever to discreetly slip yourself a CBD dose. You don’t have to worry much about discreetness at home, which means that CBD in all forms is at your disposal if you’re suffering from concentration issues.
Before we go any further, it’s important to say that there have not been many studies looking into the efficacy of CBD for concentration issues. With that said, CBD’s potential ability to boost concentration is thought to result from its effect on several of the underlying causes of distraction. Namely, the following:
- Anxiety– Concentration problems are very common for people who live with anxiety. Severe anxiety makes it almost impossible to pay attention to the task at hand, instead focusing on your anxiety itself, whatever is making you anxious, suffering from rapid thoughts. As we mentioned in a previous article of ours, anxiety is often linked to a deficiency in serotonin, and this is where CBD comes in. In a nutshell, CBD is thought to interact with receptors and help boost levels when they are low, decreasing anxiety.
- Stress – Stress, anxiety, and a lack of concentration all go hand in hand. Specifically, stress makes it difficult to focus because of a substance called cortisol, a chemical that helps regulate the body and is produced when the body needs to react to stressful situations. Cortisol decreases your cognitive performance and makes it difficult to pay attention. Studieshave shown that, due to its anxiolytic properties, the way CBD interacts with your endocannabinoid system leads to lower levels of stress. This would mean CBD leads to lower levels of cortisol and increased focus.
- Lack of sleep or low energy– Like any college student who has pulled an all-nighter or a nurse who works the night shift knows, a lack of sleep can really start to drain you of your ability to concentrate on the task at hand. Similar to stress, insufficient sleep leads to higher levels of cortisol and decreased cognitive function. Animal studies have shown that CBD can help improve your sleep cycle and increase total sleep time. And because we are really not that different from other mammals, it is thought that CBD could lead to better and longer sleep in humans, thus leading to better rest and increased focus.
Using CBD to Help with Distractions for Remote Work
Anxiety, stress, and sleep are all closely intertwined and related to one another. Stress and anxiety can lead to a lack of sleep, and a lack of sleep can lead to stress and anxiety. In turn, all three lead to concentration problems and can make you more susceptible to distractions.
Stress and anxiety can sap your motivation and make even little things that wouldn’t normally distract you act as road blocks to getting stuff done. Think about yourself for minute; if something is gnawing at you or making you worry, how easy it for you to focus on the task at hand? What makes matters even worse when you’re working at home is that there are ample things around you that you can use to distract yourself and procrastinate.
By taking care of the common underlying causes of concentration problems, CBD may be effective at helping you stay focused and motivated throughout the workday at home.
How to Take CBD for Concentration
How you consume CBD to help yourself focus is up to you. Like we mentioned, the benefit to working at home is that you don’t have to sneak your CBD dose or feel embarrassed that you’re consuming it for concentration or any other reason.
If you’re taking CBD for anxiety, stress, or sleep reasons, then the two most popular types of products are tinctures and capsules. Both have the benefit of easy to control dosage, but tinctures have the added benefit of placing the CBD right under your tongue where it gets to your blood fast. Capsules, on the other hand, are ingested and the CBD has to travel through your whole digestive system before it can get to your blood.
If you think the reason for your distraction is some type of joint pain or skin issue, then a CBD topical product may be the better choice. Additionally, since you’re in the comfort of your own home, you can also try consuming CBD through vaping. Inhaling is the quickest way to feel the benefits of CBD as it enters the bloodstream directly through the lungs, however the effects usually wear off after a couple hours.
Tips for CBD Dosage
When it comes to your CBD dosage, start low and work your way up. You don’t have to worry about “overdosing” or any other serious negative side effects. The most important thing is to just go at your own pace and pay close attention to how your body responds to it.
It’s also crucial to remember that CBD won’t start working overnight. The key is to help it build up in your system and focus on what you aren’t feeling. When it comes to focusing while working from home, you are not going to feel a strong intoxicating effect like, for example, if you take Adderall. Instead, pay attention to how much less distracted you feel day by day and how much more productive you are as it builds up in your system.
Conclusion
We’re in a new world when it comes to working and our jobs. And this new world brings with it its own set of challenges and issues to overcome. If you’re having problems concentrating on your work and staying productive from the home office, then give CBD a try to see if it will help you out.
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