Does CBD Oil Help With Public Speaking Anxiety?

Table of Contents:

• Intro
• What is CBD?
• How does CBD oil work?
• Study: CBD helps public speaking anxiety
• How much CBD oil should you take?
• When should you take CBD oil?
• Where can you buy CBD oil?

More people than ever before are supplementing with CBD Oil – and rightfully so. With emerging scientific data now starting to support anecdotal claims regarding CBD oil’s effectiveness, consumer confidence is at an all time high. So much so, that sales of the cannabis based supplement recently overtook vitamins C & D, making CBD oil one of the most popular supplements in the United Kingdom.

One of the major drivers behind CBD oil's newfound popularity are the benefits it brings to people with anxiety, a condition that will affect 1 in 3 people during their lifetime.

Anxiety is defined as intense fear of being judged, negatively evaluated or rejected in social and professional situations. For people suffering with anxiety, a fear of public speaking is said to be one of the primary manifestations of the condition.

Recent studies have suggested CBD oil may reduce the anxiety brought on by public speaking, potentially providing relief to millions worldwide who deal with public speaking anxieties daily in their professional lives.

Cannabidiol, often abbreviated to ‘CBD’ is a naturally occurring compound found within the cannabis plant. It belongs to a family of compounds known as the phytocannabinoids, of which hundreds have been identified to date.

CBD is extracted from varieties of Cannabis Sativa L. – often referred to as industrial hemp. CBD is legal food supplement in the United Kingdom and will not get you high whatsoever.

When ingested CBD interacts with the human endocannabinoid system. Found within the brain, central and peripheral nervous systems, the human endocannabinoid system is a complex cell communication system that plays a role in various physiological processes which include:

• Mood regulation
• Stress response
• Immune function
• Memory

In 2011 researchers at the University of Sao Paulo tested the effects of CBD oil on public speaking anxiety – they did this using a simulated public speaking test. Due to a fear of public speaking being such a prominent feature in anxiety disorders, simulated public speaking tests are considered a valid way to test for anxiety.

After acclimatising to the lab for 15 minutes and having their physiological measurements taken, the 24 participants with anxiety were given either a single oral dose of CBD oil or a placebo. They were then given 2 minutes to produce a 4-minute speech about public transportation in their city. Additionally, participants were told that their speech would be recorded and analysed by a psychologist. Anxiety measurements were taken before during and after the speech.

The results showed anxious participants who supplemented with CBD oil before the public speaking test displayed significantly reduced anxiety, improved cognitive performance and increased comfort during public speaking. The measurements taken from the anxious people who used CBD oil were similar to the measurements taken from the non-anxious participants.

This research was built upon further in 2019 when researchers put 56 healthy men through a public speaking test after taking either CBD oil or a placebo. The results once again showed that when taken before public speaking, CBD oil reduces public speaking anxiety. The authors did note however, that the exact mechanism behind CBD’s action is still unknown and that studies to determine optimal doses of CBD are needed in the future.

Although CBD oil’s effectiveness for reducing anxiety whilst public speaking has been demonstrated in multiple studies, there is no definitive answer to how much you should take. This is because across the studies various doses of CBD oil were used on people with different physical characteristics and lifestyles.

Therefore, when using CBD oil for public speaking anxiety, we recommend the following:

Although CBD oil’s anxiety reducing effects have been demonstrated regardless of when it is consumed, in the public speaking studies CBD oil was taken just before participants began speaking.

Therefore, for best results we recommend taking your CBD oil 15-30 minutes before you begin public speaking.