Stress can keep you up at night, but it doesn’t have to—learn how CBD can help you chill out enough to get some rest.
You’re supposed to get 7 hours of sleep per night for your health and wellbeing, but when’s the last time you actually managed that without sleeping until noon on a Sunday? Over 35% of adults sleep less than 7 hours per night, so you’re not the only one battling this problem.
It’s easy enough to watch a video about sleep hygiene, turn your thermostat down, and go to bed early. But if you have insomnia, you probably know what comes next.
You lie awake, dutifully keeping your eyes shut and not even looking at your phone until what seems like an eternity has passed. (In reality, it’s only been 20 minutes.) When you finally peep at the clock, you’re so discouraged that you don’t even want to keep trying. So, you lose a couple more hours texting and scrolling on social media until you finally pass out.
The problem with that bedtime routine is that you don’t ever awake refreshed and energized. When you wake up, your eyes seem like they’re full of sand, and your head feels like there’s a high school drum corps living inside it.
If all that gives you some serious déjà vu, then you might benefit from adding cannabidiol to your sleep routine.
What the research says about CBD for sleep
The scientific community has plenty of interest in studying CBD’s effects on sleep. The cannabis plant has a reputation for helping folks relax and unwind, but without THC (delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, the plant’s seriously psychoactive component), does it have the same effect?
Some recent conclusions about CBD and sleep include:
- A 2014 literature review concluded that “CBD may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of insomnia.”
- The same review also speculated that “CBD may hold promise for REM sleep behavior disorder and excessive daytime sleepiness.”
- A 2019 study found that CBD improved the sleep scores of 66% of the patients who took it for poor sleep complaints within the first month.
CBD can help you chill—but sleep hygiene is essential
industrytap.com suggests the use of cannabinoids to improve your sleep environment.
Make CBD part of your bedtime routine—that is, don’t just pop a gummy and expect to fall asleep in 10 seconds. Instead, make it part of your evening wind-down by taking it with your bedtime vitamins or with a cup of chamomile tea.
Of course, a consistent bedtime routine isn’t the only sleep hygiene you need to be practicing. There are changes you can make all day long that will boost your sleep quality at night!
- Avoid eating for 2 hours before you go to sleep since digestion can spike your blood sugar and make it hard to relax
- Drink less caffeine during the day or avoid it altogether
- Exercise every day, since physically tiring out your body will help knock you out
- Be consistent by picking a bedtime and wake time and actually sticking to the schedule!
- Install blackout curtains to keep your room as dark as possible
- Ban electronics from the bedroom—yes, this means no smartphones!
- Turn down the thermostat between 60 and 67 degrees, the range where your body finds it easiest to fall into a deep sleep
How to choose a CBD product for sleep
Everyone’s got their own CBD sleep elixir of choice. Maybe you can’t resist a sweet little sugar bear, or perhaps you love the quick-acting effect of tinctures.
CBD is individual, so the perfect sleep product for you won’t be the ideal sleep product for everyone. Just choose a product that you’ll find easy to use every night!
Your options include:
- CBD Gummies
- CBD Oil tinctures
- CBD Candy
Is CBD right for everyone?
Most people can benefit without worry that it might affect your body the way antihistamines or sedatives do. (No one wants that next-morning cog fog!)
Healthline notes that CBD is “relatively safe” with few side effects. If you do experience any, they might include:
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea
- Appetite changes
- Weight changes
If you have liver damage or liver disease, then CBD may not be right for you. A 2019 study suggested that CBD could cause liver damage when taken in very high doses (though the study looked at mice rather than humans).
Similarly, CBD may not be right for you if you take medications that affect your liver’s function. Check with your doctor and pharmacist before trying CBD.
This article was originally published on Sunday Scaries.
