It’s become common to think that CBD oil products might help people as sleep aids. CBD products are now viewed as near-panaceas that might help with everything from anxiety to chronic pain with no serious side effects.
Does CBD really help you sleep, however? In this guide, we’ll look at the research into CBD and sleep while answering common questions about the usefulness of CBD oil for insomnia and other sleep disorders.
What causes you to lose sleep?
Sleep can be lost for a variety of different reasons. In some cases, you might have just worked too late or drank a little bit too much coffee after dinner.
While losing sleep every once in a while is no big deal, chronic sleep loss is bad for your health. Certain physical and mental health conditions, including anxiety and chronic pain, can make it continuously hard to sleep every single night.
Carefully examine the factors that might be making it hard for you to sleep. Many people choose to add CBD to their nightly routines in the hopes of finding better rest.
What are the effects of CBD?
CBD does not get you high. Instead, this cannabinoid is fully non-intoxicating, and CBD may help with a variety of different conditions.
Scientists have researched CBD as a sleep aid. At this point, it’s too soon to make definitive statements regarding the ability of CBD to improve sleep.
We can, however, examine the research that has been conducted so far into the usefulness of CBD for sleep. Let’s take a look at some of the studies into CBD and sleep, anxiety and PTSD.
Research into CBD and sleep
In 2019, a large clinical study on CBD and sleep was published in The Permanente Journal. This marked the publication of one of the most thorough CBD studies in history, and it also provided new insights on the usefulness of CBD for sleep and anxiety.
In addition to finding CBD to be “better tolerated than routine psychiatric medications,” the researchers who conducted this study also determined that “controlled trials are needed to provide definitive clinical guidance.” This means that CBD is safer than most prescription sleep medicines, and it shows enough therapeutic potential to be researched further.
Research into CBD and anxiety
Anxiety and sleep are closely interrelated. If you can’t fall asleep because you feel insecure or plagued with worries, anxiety contributes to your insomnia and disrupts your sleep-wake cycle.
Researchers have looked closely at the ability of CBD to mitigate both insomnia and anxiety. In 2015, for instance, a review of the available evidence on CBD and anxiety was published in the journal Neurotherapeutics.
The researchers who conducted this study found that CBD has “considerable potential.” They concluded that “further study” is needed to determine its “therapeutic effects” for anxiety.
Research into CBD and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
PTSD commonly causes insomnia. CBD has been researched as a potential treatment for insomnia using both lab and clinical models.
A review of the available evidence published in Frontiers in Neuroscience in 2018, for instance, details the efforts of preclinical studies to determine the potential therapeutic usefulness of CBD for PTSD. In 2019, researchers published the results of a small clinical study into PTSD and CBD.
No patients “discontinued treatment due to side effects,” and “CBD was generally well tolerated.” The researchers obtained remarkably positive results, and they call for “additional clinical investigation” to definitely determine the usefulness of CBD for PTSD.
Research into CBD and pain
Chronic pain has a way of keeping you up at night. Some of the earliest research on CBD and pain dates back to a 2008 scientific article by Dr. Ethan Russo published in Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management.
Since then, research into CBD for pain has accelerated dramatically, providing an idea of just how positively the scientific community views the potential usefulness of CBD for chronic pain. Many CBD users report that this non-intoxicating cannabinoid helps with their pain.
Does CBD help with sleep?
CBD is being researched intensively for its potential usefulness as a sleep aid. Thousands of people already use CBD for help sleeping, and this cannabinoid does not appear to have any serious short-term or long-term side effects.
Based on the state of current research, CBD may one day soon be viewed as mainstream sleep treatment. We’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest developments in CBD sleep research as they occur.
Does CBD help with REM sleep?
REM sleep is one of the most important and restorative parts of your sleep cycle. According to a 2018 study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, CBD does not appear to reduce the amount of time you spend in REM sleep.
This attribute makes CBD different from THC, which can reduce the length of your REM sleep cycle. CBD has also been researched for its ability to block the anxiety-related loss of REM sleep.
What is the most popular CBD for sleep?
People usually take CBD tinctures or CBD capsules for sleep. CBD oil tinctures are convenient to keep next to your bed, and you can adjust your dose as necessary to make sure you get a good night of sleep.
Capsules are somewhat more convenient than CBD tinctures, and they take effect almost as quickly. If you’re looking for the best CBD tincture for sleep, we would recommend:
Colorado Botanicals 1,500mg Broad Spectrum CBD Oil
With 50mg CBD per milliliter, this extra-strength, natural hemp-derived terpene-boosted tincture comes in both Peppermint and Unflavored varieties.
If you’re looking for the best CBD capsules for sleep, we would recommend:
Colorado Botanicals 25mg Broad Spectrum CBD Softgels
Containing 25mg of broad-spectrum, THC-free CBD per capsule, take one or two capsules before bed for the best effects.
What is the recommended CBD dosage for sleep?
There are no official guidelines regarding the mg of CBD you should take for sleep. It’s more on how much CBD your body needs, and everyone’s tolerance levels are slightly different.
At Colorado Botanicals, we suggest that you start with a low dose of CBD per day, such as 10-20mg for the first 5-7 days, and see how it affects you. In our CBD dosing blog, we go into a good CBD dosing schedule, but in summary, if you notice 10-20mg is working perfectly, we recommend sticking to that dosage. If it’s not as effective as you’d like, then feel free to increase your dose by 5mg every 2-3 days to find your optimal dosage.
If you increase your dosage higher to a level that out of know-where you’re not feeling the effects as you did, then it’s because you built a tolerance. To reset your tolerance levels, take a 2-3 day break from CBD and start at a lower dose.
When should I take CBD for sleep?
It depends on which type of CBD you take (CBD Isolate or Full/Broad Spectrum), the CBD extract’s quality, and what the product type is. A good quality CBD product from a reputable company should onset pretty quickly.
When it comes to CBD oils, it’s best to take it 15-20 minutes before going to bed, while lower quality CBD oils can take up to 30 minutes to take effect.
On the other hand, CBD gummies or softgels take them 30-60 minutes before bed. The reason why is because they take slightly longer to take effect as the gummy has to first travel through your intestines before getting digested and absorbed.
