Overdo it? Here’s how CBD may help get you back on your feet.

Ugh. The dreaded hangover.

We all know that the best way to avoid hangovers is to drink in moderation, eat before you imbibe, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. And yet, most of us have had one or two drinks too many, only to wake up feeling less than optimal.

What causes hangovers, and How CBD may help.

Marijuana has been considered a hangover helper since time immemorial, and it only makes sense – THC has a longstanding track record of helping with nausea, inflammation, and pain. Experienced consumers just know: Cannabis makes a hangover more tolerable.

The trade-off is, you’re high. But can CBD help, too?

No studies have directly investigated CBD for hangovers, but the effects from ingesting the second-most abundant cannabinoid – the one that doesn’t get you high – definitely lean against the worst of the hangover symptoms: nausea and vomiting.

What is a hangover?

According to the Mayo Clinic, the consequences of over-indulging can include:

• Fatigue and weakness
• Excessive thirst and dry mouth
• Headaches and muscle aches
• Nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain
• Poor or decreased sleep
• Dizziness or a sense of the room spinning

Too much alcohol is bad news for your body. It causes your blood vessels to expand (leading to headaches and other maladies), disrupts your blood sugar balance, dehydrates you, irritates the lining of your stomach, and even triggers an inflammatory response from your immune system.

Using CBD for pesky hangover symptoms.

CBD might be able to help some of the most common consequences. For starters, CBD is famous for its anti-inflammatory properties: Cannabinoid receptors are located on immune cells, and CBD has been shown to decrease inflammation in multiple ways, including downregulating cytokine production and upregulating T-regulatory cells, which can both help suppress inflammatory responses.

While there isn’t definitive research on CBD for migraines, one study pointed out that cannabis’ anticonvulsant, analgesic, antiemetic, and anti-inflammatory effects — as well as the fact that it’s already being used as a treatment for different pain conditions, including migraine-associated pain—are why cannabinoids are being considered a treatment avenue.

Using CBD for hangover-induced GI upset and stomach pain haven’t been studied directly, but scientists do think CBD is a promising treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, the symptoms of which are not all that different from hangover-related GI distress.

Studies have also shown that CBD could be effective clinically for treating nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy or other treatments, so it’s definitely worth a try for nausea caused by a little too much alcohol.

There’s also reason to think that cannabis could not just help treat, but prevent the negative effects of alcohol on the body in the long-term: Studies have shown that cannabis use can be linked to a lower risk of liver disease in alcoholics and alcohol-induced neurodegeneration.

Hopefully, in the coming years, we’ll be learning more and more about the relationship between cannabis and alcohol. In the meantime, CBD is definitely worth a try if you’re moving slowly the morning after a night out.