CBD Oil for Sleep and Insomnia

Author: Dr. Diana Rangaves

CBD oil is a key component of the cannabis plant and helps your body maintain balance by interacting with your endocannabinoid system. Although a major component of the cannabis plant, CBD oil is not as psychoactive as THC, which means it does not get you high. CBD oil for sleep has become immensely popular over the years as a huge help to those having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

What Research Says About CBD for Insomnia

Does CBD oil help you sleep? In recent times, there has been a growing interest by the public in CBD, which has pushed researchers to study its uses, benefits, and side effects. Studies done show that increased use of CBD works against insomnia. A particular study established that a single CBD dose of 160 milligrams increases the urge to sleep, including sleep duration. But first, to understand how CBD helps with sleep, we need to understand what causes insomnia. Several things bring about the lack of sleep, and they include:

Mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression
Certain medications that interfere with the sleep-wake cycle
High levels of caffeine especially if taken late during the day or closer to sleeping hours
Physical problems such as chronic pain and restless leg syndrome
An environment like air, temperatures, sounds, uncomfortable mattress, or pillow

However, some people mistake a few nights of tossing and turning for insomnia. To understand or identify insomnia, you need to look out for the following signs;

Struggling to fall asleep hours after going to bed
Waking up in the night frequently and finding it hard to go back to sleep
Relying on drugs to fall asleep and stay asleep
Waking up way early before your sunrise and struggling to fall back asleep

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Have always been a night owl and desired to be an early bird. I tried sleeping earlier than normal in an attempt to change my circadian rhythm, but 30 years of conditioning is very hard to break. Thanks to Calm Sleep, I’ve been going to bed between 10-11 PM instead of my typical 12-1 AM! It’s like magic!

Walter S.

According to research, the stress hormone, cortisol is at its peak in the morning. Still, people who suffer from insomnia suffer high cortisol levels at night, which results in increased interruptions during sleep or nighttime awakenings. However, researchers’ results indicate that CBD oil significantly reduces the level of cortisol by suppressing its release and acting as a sedative.

Research being done on CBD oil and its use for sleep, though at the infancy stage, demonstrate that CBD does treat anxiety. Hence for those who have insomnia due to increased anxiety, CBD Oil is a huge game-changer for them. This research was published in 2019 and it involved 72 subjects with 25 suffering from poor sleep and 47 suffering from anxiety. Each of these subjects was given 25 mg of CBD capsule every day for a month and 79.2 percent of them reported low levels of anxiety. In contrast, 66.7 percent reported experiencing improved sleep patterns.

Several other smaller pieces of research supported these findings, such as a study done on a 10-year-old girl who has PTSD and insomnia. She was given a trial dose of 25 milligrams of Cannabinoid oil supplement during bedtime. An extra 6 to 12 milligrams of the same supplement were administered through a sublingual spray for anxiety during the day. Eventually sleep quality and quality improved over the next five months proving that CBD therapy for sleep was treatment enough.

According to the list above of some of the causative agents of insomnia, chronic pain is recorded as a cause and a review done in 2018 showed that CBD reduces chronic pain allowing for better sleep. All these research combined had similar findings that CBD helps with sleep or those who have insomnia.

How CBD Oil for Sleeping Works

Almost a quarter-century ago, scientists discovered a chemical component in the body known as the endocannabinoid system, an intricate network of receptors found in the Central Nervous System and throughout the body. It contains natural components that soothe the body and the mind making it easy to fall asleep: the body and its ability to manufacture endogenous cannabinoids that are chemical messengers. The cannabinoids interact with the endocannabinoid system to maintain a state of balance that allows you to sleep.

How to Use

CBD is available in a variety of forms which makes it easy to use to fall and stay asleep and they include

Oil and tinctures

These are designed to be used to be placed under the tongue. Sublingual CBD use takes around 20 minutes before it takes effect which means, you should put it in place around half an hour before your bedtime.

Vape concentrate

Also known as e-liquid, CBD vape oil is designed as a vaporizer to be inhaled. Inhaling CBD in the form of vapor allows it to enter the bloodstream directly and take effect as quickly. If you prefer this form of CBD, you may consider inhaling it five to ten minutes before going to bed to get the best effect. We happen to have one of the best CBD vaporizers in the market that you can use and improve your sleep.

Capsules and pills

CBD capsule makes it easy to consume the cannabis plant extract just like a capsule-based supplement and benefit from it. The pill or capsule passes through the digestive tract and liver before it gets to the bloodstream. Since it takes a while to be ingested into the system, it is best to use the pill or capsule an hour before sleep. We stock the most effective CBD capsules to allow you to fall asleep peacefully like a newborn.

Topical

You can apply CBD on your skin like a moisturizer after a long day and a warm shower. Topical CBD is dermally absorbed but it is not as effective and vape CBD or CBD tincture, so it is best you apply it at least one hour to your bedtime.

Edible CBD

Another form of CBD oil is edibles like gummy bears, cookies, or cakes. These bites are laced with a specific milligram concentration of the product CBD. As you chew the edibles, it diffuses into the salivary glands slowly entering the bloodstream and takes effect.

Vape CBD gets absorbed into the bloodstream quickest than any other form available. However, certain factors determine the dose of CBD you use, including age, weight, and the nature of your insomnia. The severity of your insomnia differs from others so what works for them might not necessarily work for you.

For this reason, it is best to start with a low dosage if you are working without a prescription.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Have always been a night owl and desired to be an early bird. I tried sleeping earlier than normal in an attempt to change my circadian rhythm, but 30 years of conditioning is very hard to break. Thanks to Calm Sleep, I’ve been going to bed between 10-11 PM instead of my typical 12-1 AM! It’s like magic!

Walter S.

Side Effects and Safety Concerns

A review done in 2017 for the research done on CBD oil safety concluded that it is relatively safe to use for insomnia. The side effects of using CBD sleep aid are uncommon but this does not mean that they aren’t there. The possible side effects include

Weight change
Change in appetite
Diarrhea
Fatigue
Mental sedation
Inhibition of drug metabolism
Decreased fertility
Inactivity of P-glycoproteins and drug transporters

Even though the CBD dosage for sleep is regarded as safe, a study done in 2019 on mice shows that CBD can damage the liver if taken in huge amounts. It may also interfere with other medications that you may be taking, so you should speak to your doctor about it. The FDA does not approve of the purchase of CBD over the counter. However, they do not regulate the use or the purchase of CBD products as they do with dietary supplements and drugs. You need to be very careful when checking products’ labels and if possible, do your research.

Some of the safety concerns related to the use of CBD oil for sleep are that it is packaged and sold as a supplement rather than medication. This however is quite risky as you might overdose on CBD sleep ‘supplements’ only to mess with your liver or reproductive system. You cannot know for sure that you are buying a product with the correct dose levels written on the label. Therefore, it is critical to purchase from a reputable source that offers verification through the testing of their products.

Experts recommend using alternative sleep therapies for a while before you embark on using CBD oil for insomnia. You can only do this if you are sure of the root cause of your lack of sleep.

Summary

Insomnia is a very common condition, whether mild or severe. Still, even with the recommended support from your doctor, the best treatment is behavioral change, in combination with a reputable product from Calm by Wellness CBD oil. Some try to self-prescribe or self-medicate to get rid of their sleeping sickness and enjoy peaceful and normal sleep just like any other normal human since research shows that CBD and sleep go hand in hand. The good thing is that our CBD products are specially curated to suit the needs of all people who have insomnia. With proven efficacy and impeccable quality, we guarantee that our products will get you snoring and dreaming your way to a sunrise like never before.