CBD for Sleep

Approximately 60 million Americans suffer from insomnia, a sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep and/or stay asleep. If you’re one of the millions that has difficulty sleeping, you may have searched high and low for something that will help you get a good rest – trying prescription medications, weighted blankets, melatonin, a cool room, meditation and more. Can CBD help you sleep? If you haven’t found relief from insomnia, one option that may work for you is CBD.

There is a common misconception that CBD will make you drowsy or put you to sleep. In actuality, CBD tends to increase alertness and reduce daytime drowsiness. For some people with insomnia, CBD may help them sleep because it addresses the underlying reason that they are having difficulty falling or staying asleep.

While CBD isn’t an insomnia cure-all, it may be an effective way to get a better night of sleep for certain people. If you have a hard time sleeping, consult with your doctor about the possibility of adding CBD to your diet. Once you have the go-ahead from your doctor, you can then shop a range of CBD products online at Green Wellness Life.

Why Aren’t You Sleeping?

To figure out if CBD may help you sleep, you will first need to examine why exactly you are having trouble sleeping. Common causes of insomnia include:

Depending on the cause of your insomnia, CBD may allow you to fall asleep more quickly and/or stay asleep through the night.

How CBD Can Help You Sleep

It is important to understand that CBD does not work as a sedative.  Instead, CBD may help you sleep by addressing the root cause of your insomnia.

CBD may not alleviate all causes of sleeplessness. For example, if you are trying to sleep during the day and your kids are playing loudly in the next room, CBD probably won’t make it easier for you to tune out the noise. However, CBD may be useful in reducing the symptoms of certain conditions that may cause insomnia.

While research on CBD is still in its early stages, scientists have determined that CBD can help with a number of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD. A 2019 study found that CBD can help to reduce anxiety and improve sleep for individuals who suffer from both anxiety and insomnia. CBD may also help to reduce common symptoms of PTSD, such as having nightmares. According to a 2018 literature review, CBD may also help to alleviate symptoms of depression, particularly when it is related to stress. If you suffer from one or more of these conditions, then CBD may be able to help you get a better night of sleep.

Scientists have also found that CBD may help to reduce pain, which can improve your sleep if chronic pain makes sleep hard for you. Scientists have found that CBDa inhibits key inflammatory mediators called the COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. COX-2, in particular, is responsible for a wide variety of inflammation responses in the body, and its inhibition is one of the key mechanisms of common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). When you aren’t in pain, it may be much easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

It has also been found to help people with Parkinson’s Disease who suffer from REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), which causes a person to act out their dreams. Typically, during REM, the body is largely paralyzed, a state known as REM atonia. This immobilization keeps sleepers from reacting physically to their dreams. In RBD, this paralysis doesn’t occur, leaving people free to move—which can lead to disruptive sleep and to injuring themselves or their sleeping partners. Preliminary research shows that CBD can target RBD as well as the excessive daytime sleepiness that is often associated with RBD. 

Will CBD Make Me Drowsy?

As noted above, CBD does not have a sedative effect. In fact,  studies have found that CBD may actually promote wakefulness. In other words, taking CBD may actually keep you alert instead of putting you to sleep.

It seems counterintuitive that CBD could work for both sleep and wakefulness. Keep in mind that CBD won’t actually put you to sleep. Instead, it may address the underlying cause of your insomnia. In this way, CBD can both help you sleep – and possibly keep you alert during the day.

Scientists don’t exactly understand how CBD can make you alert. One study involving rats found that CBD measurably contributed to a lack of drowsiness in rats because of how it increased the activation of neurons in the hypothalamus and DRD (dorsal raphe nucleus), two areas of the brain that regulate drowsiness and sleep. For this reason, CBD may be useful for people who suffer from excessive somnolence (unusual drowsiness). 

How to Use CBD for Sleep

CBD comes in a number of different forms, giving you a range of options to try to help you get to sleep or stay asleep. You may choose to take a CBD oil or tincture, a capsule, edible, apply a CBD topical, or even use a CBD inhaler.  As a general rule, CBD tends to get into your system fastest when you inhale it or place CBD oil under your tongue. 

The Best CBD Products For Sleep

While many different CBD products could help with sleep, there are a few CBD products that are specifically formulated to provide a more restful sleep. Below are a few of our favorite products for sleep issues. 

Lift CBD Calming Honey Sleep Drops

Lift’s CBD Sleep Drops are perfectly formulated for a better night’s sleep. The drops include CBD and CBN along with melatonin. All three of these compounds work together to help you get to sleep and stay asleep. The drops are also infused with honey to make this soothing tincture go down even easier. It’s a tincture you will look forward to taking before bed. 

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Social CBD Rest Gel Capsules

Social’s Rest Gel Capsules combine isolate CBD with essential oils and herbs to produce a more restful sleep. Studies have found that isolate CBD can help improve the body’s natural response to stress. If stress is keeping you up at night, these capsules may help. 

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CBDfx Calming Sleep Tincture

The CBDfx calming sleep tincture contains unfiltered CBD and CBN. CBN is a lesser-known cannabinoid that has been found to produce a calming effect on the body and mind. When you combine the calming effects of both CBD and CBN, you get a formula for a more restful sleep. This CBDfx tincture is also a full-spectrum tincture, so you get the benefits of other cannabinoids outside of just CBD and CBN as well. 

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MedTerra Good Night CBD Sleep Capsules

MedTerra’s Sleep Capsules are formulated with a patented blend of CBD and other sleep enhancers (chamomile, passion flower, gaba, and melatonin). These capsules get to work faster through liposomal delivery and they’re easy to take. The capsules are odorless and tasteless, which may be perfect for those with picky palates. 

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CBD Product Considerations

Because each person’s body chemistry is unique, you may need to experiment to find the right serving size to help you sleep. Talking to your doctor is the best way to learn if CBD is right for you, a proper serving size, and any possible interactions with medications that you currently take. Typically, your best bet is to start with a low serving size and gradually increase the amount that you take until you find out what works for you.

When purchasing CBD, look for products that have been independently tested and make those lab results available online for your review. Because CBD is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this is the only way to ensure that you are getting exactly what you paid for – and nothing that you don’t want. You should also look for CBD products that are produced from industrial hemp grown in the United States. This way, you can be assured that your CBD product will contain no more than a trace amount (0.3%) of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Green Wellness Life Is Here to Help

There are few things that are more frustrating than an inability to sleep. If you suffer from insomnia, CBD may be the ticket to a good night of sleep. Our team can help you find a CBD product that may help you.

While we aren’t doctors and can’t diagnose or treat any condition, we can offer the latest scientific research on CBD and our own experience with CBD. All products sold at Green Wellness Life have been independently tested and are made from American-grown hemp. You can rest easy knowing that when you buy from our site,  you are purchasing safe, high-quality CBD.

If you’re ready to give CBD a try, we are here to answer questions or help you pick a product. To get in touch with us, call 866-244-4223 (M – F, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST), hit the “live chat” button on the bottom right of your screen, or fill out our online contact form

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