Does CBD Make You Sleepy?
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Written By: Suzanne Kvilhaug
If I don’t get at least 7 hours a night of sleep, I’m a shell of the woman I really am. My productivity takes a huge dip, food choices aren’t admirable, planned workouts don’t happen, moods aren’t great and everything finds a way to annoy me. Miss Congeniality? Couldn’t manage to get one single vote. Sleep dictates so much for me and luckily it’s not just in my head, science backs this up. And I guess everyone else is realizing it because sleep health has taken the wellness world by storm and CBD is a sleep aid many people are turning to.
What is CBD?
For starters, get used to seeing the acronym CBD everywhere and when I say everywhere, I mean it. A new report predicts CBD market will hit 22 billion by 2022. Cannabidiol, more known as CBD, is one of the 100+ cannabinoids found in cannabis. CBD is the non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant and is legal in all 50 states. You name it, CBD is being added to it. CBD infused products are popping up all over the place. Smoothies? Yes. Coffee? Yes. Creams? Yes. Toothpaste? Yes. Lotion? Shampoo? Yes. Lip balm? Yes. And i’ll stop there but I could easily keep going and going.
How CBD works
How can CBD be marketed as something that can help so many health conditions? This is interesting and makes everything more clear. We have cannabinoid receptors and an endocannabinoid system that processes cannabinoids, like those found in cannabis. The endocannabinoid system is one of the body’s largest neurotransmitter networks and is always working to achieve balance. Cannabinoid receptors are involved in a variety of physiological processes including appetite, pain-sensation, mood, and memory. They also affect and regulate the way other bodily systems function, like your immune, nervous, and gastrointestinal systems. That’s why CBD is marketed as a treatment for a range of things like inflammation, sleep disorders, anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, depression and PTSD.
CBD and Sleep
If you experience some kind of sleep issues, you’re not alone. About 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders including insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy. Getting the right amount of sleep plays an integral role in our overall health and well-being. Yeah, no kidding (refer to my opening paragraph). Sleep affects almost every tissue in our bodies including growth and stress hormones, our immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain, symptoms of depression, high-blood pressure and more.
So how and why CBD works to help people sleep better is not entirely proven yet science is starting to learn more. CBD appears to help with sleep mainly because of its ability to promote relaxation and its anti-anxiety properties. One of the main reasons people can’t fall asleep at night is because they are experiencing some level of anxiety and can’t manage to shut their brain off. If that’s the case for you, CBD has the ability to reduce anxiety, which can be helpful in reducing sleep difficulties and improving sleep quality.
Studies have shown that CBD:
May have therapeutic potential for the treatment of insomnia.
May hold promise for REM sleep behavior disorder and excessive daytime sleepiness.
May increase overall sleep amounts, and improve insomnia.
As for how much CBD to take for sleep and in what form, it’s about to get a little complicated. CBD comes in many different forms and the name of the game is trial and error in order to see how your body responds and what works for you. Hey if it works in the end, it’s worth it, right?! Standardize dosing recommendations for CBD is near impossible because everybody is different. And the kicker here is CBD may energize some people and keep them up at night. So overall if you’re new to CBD, it’s really a bit of a guessing game until you try it and see how it works and if it works for you. If you’re like me and you value your sleep more than anything, a product that has the potential to give you a good night’s rest is worth a little challenge. Think of it as an adventure. A quest for the rest!