CBD for Focus and Creativity – A Writer’s Best Friend

To all my fellow writers out there dealing with brain drain and burnout, this one’s for you.

Mental fatigue and burnout frustrate creativity and focus, and writing in such conditions is torture. I would know because I’ve been down this road many times.

Like you, I did some research into how to refresh and reignite my tired and strained brain. Most of the answers I found recommended dietary changes, meditation, sleeping more, and supplements like zinc and magnesium. While these weren’t bad recommendations, one solution turned out to be the real game changer – using CBD for focus and creativity.

What Is CBD?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the main compounds or cannabinoids found in cannabis plants. If you’re new to cannabis, you likely think of stoners and getting high when you hear the word. However, the whole cannabis plant isn’t what causes getting high or stoned.

You see, the cannabis plant contains several compounds or cannabinoids. The two most popular cannabinoids being CBD and THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is to blame for feelings of highness or elation after consuming cannabis products.

However, if a cannabis plant contains less than 0.3% THC, it can’t get you high. The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill categorizes cannabis plants with under 0.3% THC as hemp plants. If the THC content is over 0.3%, it’s a marijuana plant.

So, if THC gets you high, what does CBD do?

I’m glad you asked. Anecdotal and clinical evidence shows that CBD may have several mental and physical benefits. The most talked about benefits are:

• Reducing pain
• Minimizing anxiety
• Alleviating inflammation
• Improving sleep

How does any of this help you as a writer? I’ll tell you as we delve into the specific ways using CBD for focus and creativity may improve your life as a wordslinger.

CBD for Focus: What’s the Deal?

Some research shows that using CBD for focus may help you relax and reduce stress. It does this by lowering anxiety and promoting calmness. A calm mind unclouded by anxieties will have an easier time focusing on tasks and thoughts.

CBD’s potential to boost focus and clarity is amplified when you take it alongside CBG (Cannabigerol) – one of CBD’s sibling cannabinoids. Like CBD, CBG interacts with your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS).

Scientists believe CBG aids focus by improving your cognitive performance and ability to pay attention.

CBG may also protect your brain by slowing down and reversing mental decline as you age. It’s believed it does this by facilitating neurogenesis – the regeneration of new brain cells. If this is true, CBG could help keep mental fogginess, forgetfulness, and trouble focusing at bay.

In summary, CBG may work to keep your brain fresh and young, while CBD may help keep your mind calm and stress-free. The combination of effects can have a positive impact on your mental focus and energy. Such a boost is desirable if you’re a CBD writer trying to prevent or recover from burnout or mental lethargy.

Check out these experiences of creatives who tried CBD for focus.

Bernado Bado says,

“CBD made me lose the fear of writing… As a side effect of using CBD, I lost my writer’s block.”

According to Microsith on Reddit,

“I recently started using CBD flower and vape juice, but primarily flower instead of bud. I just started painting again for the first time in years as well as writing music. I just feel relaxed, clear headed, and my OCD doesn’t take over and keep me from attempting things I wouldn’t normally try creatively because of fear of imperfection or mistakes.”

Fellow Reddit user, timmyhigt369, says,

“Most off the creative people I think of as I read this are herb smokers and cbd is an important part of herb. Personally I feel it helps me think clearly and for sure does not restrict my creativity.”

CBD for Creativity: What’s the Deal?

Taking CBD for creativity has been proven to deliver impressive results. Authors like Maya Angelou and Carl Sagan have also proudly shared how cannabis helped them stay creative.

Angelou specifically said when she needed to be creative,

“Smoking grass eased the strain for me.”

Yes, I know she smoked the whole cannabis plant, which contains more than CBD. But CBD on its own can help with unleashing your creativity.

How?

If you feel your creativity slipping after a writing marathon, it’s not because your imagination has dried up. You’re simply tired. CBD can help you relax and recover by triggering the release of dopamine. Increased levels of dopamine in your system will elevate your mood and restore your motivation.

An unstressed, elated, and motivated mind is a far more creative machine than a mind drowning in stress, anxiety, and negativity. Also, CBD and CBG’s combined effect on improving cognitive function will ramp up your overall problem-solving, ideation, and creative abilities.

So, should you use CBD for creativity? Absolutely.

But just to be clear, CBD doesn’t make you creative or give you creativity superpowers. It only sweeps away mental gunk, clearing and energizing your mind to restore you to peak creativity.

CBD Improves Sleep Quality

Have you tried being creative with a sleep-deprived brain? It’s not pretty. It’s even worse when you sleep and wake up still tired. This happens to me when I sleep off with a problem or task on my mind. I fall asleep thinking about a problem and wake up feeling stressed because my sleep was shallow and disturbed.

Using CBD for focus and creativity can help fix such issues because CBD aids healthy sleep. As we’ve mentioned, CBD can help minimize stress and anxiety. A less stressed and anxious mind will have an easier time falling and staying asleep.

Quality sleep for at least eight hours every night will help rejuvenate your mind, leading to improved cognitive function. It will also protect your memory and creative problem-solving skills.  

In summary, if all else fails, CBD can help you sleep better if you use it before bed. A writer’s mind is far better at being creative, productive, and focused when it’s well-rested.

Can I Take THC for Creativity and Focus?

You could, but I wouldn’t recommend it. THC gets you high and, in extreme cases, causes paranoia. I don’t know about you, but being high or paranoid won’t help my creativity or focus. If anything, it sounds like a distraction when trying to write.

Artists like Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, and Lil’ Dicky may work better when high, but I can’t. I already struggle with focus while sober, and a cup of coffee is enough to leave me restless and unfocused.

Source: Whiskey Riff

If you think you can write while high with random thoughts zipping through your head, give it a shot. But I can’t so I don’t recommend it.

How to Take CBD to Boost Your Creativity and Focus

Several CBD products are available, and some of the best types you can take to improve focus and creativity are:

1.     Full-Spectrum CBD from Hemp

Taking full-spectrum CBD for focus and creativity is my preferred option. Full-spectrum CBD oil, capsules, and other products are made by processing the whole hemp plant. The final product will contain all the cannabinoids and terpenes found in the hemp plant, including CBD and CBG. Both of which are powerful creativity and focus enhancers.

Full-spectrum CBD products will also contain low levels of THC – less than 0.3% and not enough to get anyone high. The low THC dose comes from the product being made from hemp and not marijuana. A sprinkle of THC on CBD can be helpful with focus and creativity.

2.     Broad-Spectrum CBD

I recommend using broad-spectrum CBD if you want higher doses of CBD for creativity and focus. Unlike full-spectrum products, broad-spectrum CBD contains high levels of cannabidiol and less of other cannabinoids.

If you choose broad-spectrum CBD for focus and creativity, don’t expect help from other cannabinoids like CBG or CBN. Even though these cannabinoids will be present, their levels will be too low to matter. The only truly impactful cannabinoid in your broad-spectrum product will be CBD.

3.     CBD Isolate or Distillate

CBD isolate and distillate are highly refined and purified CBD products. Full-spectrum CBD contains other cannabis compounds, while broad-spectrum contains low levels of other cannabinoids. CBD isolate, on the other hand, contains nothing but CBD, while distillate contains negligible trace amounts of other cannabinoids.

If you live in a state with stringent hemp laws against THC and other cannabis compounds, CBD isolate and distillate may be your only options. Also, if you want to avoid every risk of ingesting unwanted cannabinoids like THC, CBD isolate or distillate are ideal choices.

How to Use CBD for Creativity and Focus

You can take CBD for focus and creativity orally, sublingually, or topically. Oral options include smoking CBD flowers for a full-spectrum experience or vaping. Full and broad-spectrum options are available for vaping, and you can also find smokable CBD isolate waxes and dabs.

If you’re anti-smoking like me, other oral options include ingestible CBD oils, pills, and powders. There are also gummies that you can pop like candy, and CBD tinctures, which you use sublingually (place under your tongue).

When using CBD for focus and creativity, I prefer the sublingual route because it’s faster-acting with a higher bioavailability. I also prefer using oral CBDs before bed and in the morning. Night use could help you sleep better and morning use should help you stay fresh and focused throughout the day.

Looking for something kinky? If so, CBD suppositories are a thing.

While topical use is an option, keep in mind that the bioavailability is low. Topical CBDs are best for cramps or aches. For example, if you have a hurting back, carpal tunnel, or fingers cramping from typing, apply your topical CBD to the affected spot and massage it.

The Danger of Using CBD for Focus and Creativity

While taking CBD for focus and creativity can improve your life as a writer, there are dangers. Some of the risks associated with using CBD products include:

• Overreliance: There is no evidence that CBD is addictive. However, the human mind is a weird thing. If you successfully use CBD to sharpen your mind, it could become a hard-to-shake habit. Next thing you know, you feel like you can’t write without it. Fortunately, the feeling is nowhere as disastrous as the crash or withdrawal effects that come with quitting mind-sharpening alternatives like Adderall.
• Overdosing: CBD is generally safe, non-toxic, and well-tolerated by the human body. However, if you continuously use too much of it, certain risks can arise. For example, you can develop a tolerance, leading you to require even higher doses. More immediate dangers include experiencing nausea, dry mouth, drowsiness, and diarrhea if you take too much CBD for focus.
• Using Wrong Product: Lots of shady brands are out there selling low-quality CBD products. Some of these subpar products contain little to no CBD, and some contain far more THC than the label states. Avoid purchasing inferior CBD products by shopping at only reputable hemp brands. Examples of trustworthy hemp brands that sell quality CBD products are The Hemp Doctor and 3CHI.

• Legal Troubles: If you live in Nebraska or Idaho, using any cannabis product, including CBD goods, is a crime. Before purchasing anything CBD, check your local laws to ensure it’s safe to do so. It would suck to deal with Johnny Law just because you were trying to improve your quality of life.

Here’s a 2024 map of states and their legal position on cannabis.

Source: CBD Market

Can I take CBD for Creativity and Focus If I’m Pregnant?

If you have a bun in the oven, then no CBD for you. While no medical evidence proves taking CBD for focus or creativity can harm you or your budding child, there is also no proof to the contrary. Play it safe by leaving CBD until after childbirth.

The same goes for taking CBD while breastfeeding your child. There is no proof that the CBD you ingest will endanger your child. But I recommend erring on the side of caution.

Hey there cannabis lover! Do you need help cannabis, hemp, THC, CBD content writing? Tobi Moyela @ HypeHelper has you covered. Let me write you articles just like this one to boost your brand’s search visibility and organic traffic. If you’re interested, send me a direct message, and let’s schedule a free discovery call.