Whether it’s while you’re in the gym or outside of it, you’re going either injure yourself, and it sucks, because its meant to. Pain is to signal to the body that something is wrong, and it doesn’t discriminate even if the pain is self-inflicted (like those annoying leg -day DOMS!). Since our ancestors were able to feel pain, they’ve looked for ways to numb it, either with herbal medication or more recently thanks to scientific discovery – painkillers.

Painkillers can seem like your best friend when you’ve got a long day at work with a bad injury. Maybe you’ve got gym later after work but you’ve got a nasty headache? People take painkillers all the time, and as a result they’ve come to be viewed as run-of-the-mill medications, especially in sport. But this relaxed opinion on the use of painkillers, especially opiates, has become a big problem in the fitness industry.

There’s Different Kinds Of Painkillers & It’s Good To Know The Difference

Paracetamol: The most commonly used painkiller, paracetamol is so widely used due to its low number of side effects when taken at correct doses. That being said paracetamol is very toxic to the liver if the maximum dose is exceeded. Taking alcohol with paracetamol can increase the chance of toxicity, and people on regular long-term prescriptions of paracetamol who take too much can end up with serious consequences such as liver failure.

NSAIDS: We’ve covered this class of painkiller in our blog on inflammation. Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs are a class of painkillers including aspirin, naproxen, ibuprofen and diclofenac. Commonly taken for sports injuries, these painkillers can help reduce inflammation of damaged tissues, reducing swelling and granting pain relief. You can take NSAIDs alongside paracetamol just fine, but don’t make sure you don’t take one NSAIDs along with another, as overdosing on these kinds of drugs can be extremely damaging to the gut lining of your stomach.

Opiates: Opiate drugs function by blocking opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord. Opiates are generally prescribed for treatment of chronic pain. Lower strength opiates include codeine are used mainly for mild to moderate pain. Moderate strength opiates include dihydrocodeine, hydrocodone, tramadol and oxycodone and are prescribed for moderate to severe pain. The strong, high efficacy opiates include well known drugs such as morphine, these are used by injection for severe pain. The side effects of opiates of any strength include drowsiness & sedation, decreased alertness, agitation, nausea, constipation, euphoria and general respiratory problems such as shortness of breath or coughing. As opiates can be taken alongside NSAIDs and paracetamol, a combination of all codeine with the other two classes of painkillers are used. Different opiates should not be combined as this increases the risk of the side effects.

If You Wanted To Know How They Work, Here’s A Brief Explanation

Opiates act as depressants on the central nervous system, and are named after opium, a natural narcotic produced from poppy plant, but opiates can either be synthetic or natural. Opiates bind to specific receptors in the brain and as such sever the connection between the body tissues and the central nervous system. They have a very high risk of addiction due to the feeling of euphoria they can give, and while they may feel great, the symptoms of withdrawal are very difficult to deal with.

These symptoms include muscle aches, irritability, insomnia, abdominal cramping and vomiting. Opiates are also not that great for you – they can knock your bodily systems such as your hormone system completely out of whack, and as we’ve talked about in previous blogs, hormone regulation is important for bodybuilding.

Opiates and Bodybuilding – It’s A Big Problem

The sports, fitness & bodybuilding scene is rife with injuries – everyone’s pushing themselves to the limit, and if you’re competing in any competition, you’re going to want to always train your 100%, and pain from injuries or from muscle tearing can be the difference between first or second place.

It’s no surprise that opiate use in these circles is higher than in Joe public. Research by the University of Washington looking at retired NFL players found that 52% of players used opiates during their active playing days and 71% admitted to misusing them. Opiate misuse isn’t restricted to the NFL either, with wrestling and bodybuilding among other disciplines with documented issues.

In the 2000’s the drug Nubain became very popular with the bodybuilding community due to a number of reasons:

• It helped them to work past their pain thresholds during sets
• It reduced lower back or joint pain
• It was useful for helping them in getting to sleep
• It kept competing bodybuilders cool and calm during those difficult prep weeks when they’re starved of carbohydrates for weeks.

It resulted in a number of bodybuilders becoming addicted, which can lead to the drugs losing the effect, requiring higher doses every time, and can lead down a path of increased doses or transitions to harder opiates such as fentanyl or heroin.

Its important to note that while we’re talking about athletes, power-lifters, strongmen and bodybuilders here – they are first and foremost human beings, and that opiate addiction is a serious problem in our generation across the entire population. However there is an alarming correlation between enhanced bodybuilders and opiate addictions. Multiple scientific studies have linked the abuse of narcotics to the use of performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS).

In 2012 a paper found that use of AAS could increase sensitivity towards narcotics and stimulants, which could increase the chance of developing addiction. Another study looking into the sudden or unnatural deaths of athletes where anabolic steroids were involved found that one-third of cases the death was a result of fatal combinations of steroids and opiates.

CBD Gives You The Benefits With Less Of The Side Effects

CBD manipulates your pain receiving pathways to your central nervous system similar to opiates. While the exact mechanism is still largely unknown, CBD can help with chronic and neuropathic pain, as well as reduce inflammation. CBD also has additional benefits that are just as useful as the pain relief – including triggering the release of endorphins, functioning as a muscle relaxant, and helping to regulate your melatonin and cortisol levels to help calm you down at night and improve the quality of your sleep. The effects of CBD can last three to five hours, and if you take it through liquid drops held in the mouth, the effects can be felt within minutes.

Additionally, unlike opiates, CBD has been found to have very little to no side effects and is recognised to be non-addictive. A 2016 study found that cannabis use was associated with an over 60% decrease in opioid use in patients suffering from chronic pain, with the transition being associated with an improvement to quality of life with less side effects.

CBD can allow you to get the same pain-relief and soothing benefits to help you train your best in the gym without having to sacrifice your health and suffer the side effects.

If you’re interested – here at Nordic Botanics we have multiple natural hemp products with a range of different applications to suit your every need.

References

1. Boehnke, K., Litinas, E. and Clauw, D.J. Medical Cannabis Use Is Associated With Decreased Opiate Medication Use in a Retrospective Cross-Sectional Survey of Patients With Chronic Pain. The Journal of Pain. 17(6) 739-44.
2. Cottler, L.B., Abdallah, A. Ben, Cummings, S.M., Barr, J., Banks, R. and Forchheimer, R. (2011) Injury, pain, and prescription opioid use among former National Football League (NFL) players. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 116(1–3) 188–194.
3. Darke, S., Torok, M. and Duflou, J. (2014) Sudden or Unnatural Deaths Involving Anabolic-androgenic Steroids. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 59(4) 1025–1028.
4. Nyberg, F. and Hallberg, M. (2012) Interactions Between Opioids and Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: Implications for the Development of Addictive Behavior. International Review of Neurobiology, 102 189–206.

It is evidently clear that social media has become an integral part of our lives and for some, updating their Instagram followers with their latest “Free Range Avo’ atop Fermented Toast” creation is just as important as eating a healthy meal or drinking enough water throughout the day.

Being totally present when the whole world is being narrated by Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp can feel impossible! Isn’t it crazy to think that in just the last few years, people will now experience utter panic if they leave their phone at home for just a few hours!

For some, the desire for constant distraction and validation, has become a form of drug addiction (with many Rehab Clinics around the world now offering technology addiction programs).

Is social media really just online heroin?

A recent report has shown that people spend an average of 24 hours a week, or 1 full day in every 7, online. (Ofcom, 2018)

A full 24 hours of selfies, liking, commenting and longing over the perfect life that our favourite social media stars would have us lust over. How can it be healthy to spend so long distracted by a fantasy, than being mindful and staying in the present reality?

Research has shown how mindfulness can help relieve stress, disease, lower blood pressure and ultimately is the secret to happiness. (Gilbert & Killingsworth, 2010)

However, the benefits of social media cannot be ignored and to live a life that is completely sheltered from the online world, to me, seems unrealistic.

As with everything in life, (other than meat and dairy, obviously), moderation is key and finding practical tactics to balance your social media and offline life, arguably, is vital for a meaningful existence in 2019.

Here are my top tips for balancing the online world with the real one!

1) Use Portion Control With Social Media

Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to go cold Turkey, but to start reducing the total time spend on social media until you’re getting “just enough”. If I wanted to lean up for a photoshoot, it’s the exact same way I would slowly reduce my calorie intake without removing my favourite foods all together!

Now this may seem like an obvious suggestion, but it is amazing how much time we can aimlessly waste scrolling through Instagram’s Discover feed!

Give yourself a set time limit and stick to it! For example, with responding to comments and mentions, I to limit myself to about 30 minutes a day. Like many people reading this, my online identity and following is part of my income, however it’s too easy to get pulled into activities that don’t have any real ROI!

I understand people running a business can feel the need to be plugged-in 24/7, however I found that with a few really simple tools (also really affordable) combined together, you can automate much of the work and free up your valuable time!

• I like Buffer for scheduling my posts ahead of time in bulk and keeping my content frequency consistent
• Gumroad handles all of my digital product payments and delivery, and also allows me to setup automated emails packed with FAQs and useful info for people who buy one of my products or download one of my free eBooks
• Mention allows me to respond to only the most important conversations that I should be involved with

By investing just a small amount of money each month and spending just a few focussed hours working one day a week, I managed to claim back hours every day and still have constantly active social media accounts!

Time is precious.

2) Give mindfulness a try

How can you possibly be mindful when your brain is trying to process all the images of food, training, funny animals, beauty products, big bootys etc. It’s just too much information for your poor brain to absorb and process all at once. Studies have shown that being mindful increases overall happiness. Mindfulness helps to shift your thoughts from the usual preoccupations of life to an appreciation of the present moment, and has been shown to rapidly increase wellbeing.

For me personally I am an active fidget bum so the idea of sitting perfectly still and focusing purely on my breath would drive me insane. Instead I like to be mindful with my body. Picking up an item of choice around me and really focusing in on that object. Touching it, feeling it, examining every detail of the object. The bonus of doing this exercise is you can literally do it anywhere!                                                   

I like to have a few sprays of my Nordic Botanics CBD oil before doing any type of mindfulness activity as it calms my brain and body into a relaxed state, and I find I can drift into focussed thought much easier.

Just taking a few minutes a day to do this not only distracts you from social media but gives you an opportunity to be completely present. Ommmm!

3) Disable notifications on your phone

I have the attention span of a fly, so I try to make sure all possible distractions are reduced. Disabling your notifications is such an easy and simple thing to do but it I find it really works for me.

I have disabled my Instagram and Facebook notifications on my phone, so I am not constantly getting distracted by it when I am at work or trying to achieve Flow. Now, I use social media on my schedule!

We live in such a society of instant fixes and instant messages but just remember the world isn’t going to crumble if you don’t reply to a DM within half an hour.

4) Buy yourself an alarm clock

I could lie and pretend I’m this inspirational morning riser, but the truth is that setting my alarm clock on a Sunday evening literally makes my heart sink!

I am not a morning person, but we all have commitments and a woman can’t build an empire with her eyes closed! An alarm is essential for me, and like most people I used to use the alarm clock on my iPhone. But of course, then that’s another 30 minutes of checking through your Instagram feed and laughing at the Reddit front page.

So I took it back old school and bought an analogue, wind-up alarm clock.

Yes, that’s right, an old fashioned, basic alarm clock. The one that has only two functions. To tell you the time and to get your butt out of bed in the morning. Turn your phone off before you go to bed and set that beautiful old-fashioned machine called an alarm clock!

You will reduce the time spent on social media plus you won’t be woken up by @HunkyHunk2323 from Iowa sliding into the DM’s at 4am with “Whatup baby, can I see feet?”

You can thank me in the morning.

5) Make time for real life interactions & give them your 100% focus

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a couple on a date sitting opposite and enjoying a beautiful meal…. while they’re both on their phones!

I could say it’s sad because us girls would say we want to feel like a man is 10,000% focussed on US on the date, we want to feel special! But we are just as bad if not worse!

 ‘Online communication is thriving, so why do we live in such a lonely society?’

Social media has caused us human beings to have fewer face to face interactions with each other, with people tending to interact online rather than in person. This is great for people who are shy or may experience social anxiety but there is still nothing better than having a real life, face to face connection with another human being.

‘How can you truly show your friend you’re actively listening to them if your fiddling around with filters?’

So, my tip to reduce social media (and potentially save friendships) is to make time for real life, face to face conversations with other people. This can be your mum, your dad, friends or just the guy who put the fancy pattern on your latte!

Put your phone in your pocket and remind yourself how much more you can get from a conversation with someone in real life!

6) Find something you’re passionate about that doesn’t require your phone

Have you ever done something that you feel so passionate about? An activity that takes all your focus away from the day to day world and allows you to emerge yourself in it completely. Find that and do it more!

For me it is training at the gym or playing on my aerial silks. It is a time that I am completely present. I do not think about anything else other than what I am doing, let alone worry about how many likes my last photo got.

Find something you love doing whether it be a sport, something creative or cooking and put your phone down!!!