Aging gracefully can be difficult due to the fact that degeneration of the brain can lead to memory loss and confusion. More than 5 percent of people over the age of sixty worldwide have dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease being the primary cause. Many elderly patients require full-time care by family members or senior care staff to help them keep calm and content. Yet due to dementia, they can act aggressively toward their caretakers, behavior that tends to worsen over the course of the day in a phenomenon called sundowning. This aggression can be draining for both patients and caretakers. Because most seniors already are on multiple medications, taking additional drugs to sedate them could lead to unwanted side effects or even deadly drug interactions.
CBD oil offers a natural way for elderly patients to relax. In one of the largest CBD oil research studies in humans to date, a Phase 2 clinical trial finishing in 2020 is testing how full-spectrum CBD oil alleviates agitation related to dementia in sixty patients. This research suggests the number of CB1 receptors in the brain decreases with age and may underlie the age-related cognitive dysfunction that occurs. CBD oil can improve the health of the aging brain by increasing anandamide in the brain, activating CB1 receptors, and protecting neurons from cell damage and death. CBD oil activates serotonin receptors, causing relaxation as well as promoting sleep without the dizziness or high of THC products. Taking 15–30 milligrams of CBD oil 2–3 times per day may be key to comforting aging loved ones.