In the modern world, we think of “stress” as negative. However, for our ancestors, when faced with danger, the stress response helped them to quickly respond to threats and stay alive.
When exposed to stress, the body reduces levels of anandamide, triggering feelings of agitation and anxiety. Simultaneously, your body increases levels of 2-AG, which dampens your perception of pain and activates memory, to help you escape the situation and avoid danger in the future.
2. Difficulty Sleeping
While scientists have yet to fully understand how the endocannabinoid system effects sleep, what we do know is that the endocannabinoid system influences many parts of the brain and the body that are vital to a healthy night’s sleep. Experiments have shown that increasing the amounts of CB1 helps regulate sleep patterns as well as an increase in REM sleep. In addition, increasing anandamide into the brain has shown to increase levels of adenosine which plays a role in promoting sleep and suppressing arousal. If you have an endocannabinoid deficiency or imbalance, it will likely cause sleep deficiency or even insomnia.
3. Disease Illness
Our endocannabinoid systems can become unbalanced for many reasons that are beyond our control. New research suggests some diseases and illnesses are caused by an imbalance in the endocannabinoid system. Research is just starting to find associations for cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, depression, PTSD, glaucoma, arthritis, and schizophrenia, to name a few.
Scientists are still figuring out which diseases are caused by imbalances in the endocannabinoid system, and which diseases cause the endocannabinoid system to become imbalanced. Common sense tells us it’s probably a bit of both in most cases. Either way, many diseases are an indication that your endocannabinoid system may also be impaired.