Who doesn’t want to sleep better? Sleep is a critical component of everyone’s health, and sleep deprevation can have many downstream negative side effects. If you’ve tried everything from cutting out caffeine to sleeping with a noise machine but nothing seems to be working, CBD may be the answer you’ve been looking for.
CBD is an up-and-coming natural compound found in hemp plants with numerous health benefits – inlcuding sleep enhancement. While more research needs to be done, some preliminary evidence suggests that CBD may help with conditions like insomnia.
What is CBD
CBD (short for cannabidiol) is a natural compound found in the hemp plant. It’s one of over 113 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant and is non-psychoactive – meaning that it doesn’t get you high (unlike its cannabinoid cousin, THC). Anecdotally, CBD has been reported to help with sleep, anxiety, stress, pain, inflamation, and many other health ailments. CBD products come in a variety of forms including tinctures, capsules, topicals, oils, edibles, and more.
Where Has CBD Been All My Life?
Hemp has only been recently available to the public. The 2014 Farm Bill legalized the growing, processing, and distribution of hemp (and by extension CBD) in America. This has opened the floodgates for new products but beware of companies cutting corners. Make sure brands:
- Test their products at a 3rd party lab
- Know where their hemp comes from
- Offer a money-back guarantee
How CBD May Help You Sleep
CBD works by binding to your body’s endocannabinoid system’s (ECS) receptors. The ECS is also a relatively new discovery in the world of medicine and is only beginning to be understood. We do know it is responsible for helping us regulate everything from moods and emotions to pain, anxiety, stress, and even hunger. Essentially, CBD mimics your body’s naturally occurring signals to help bring you back to normal.
Help You Sleep Faster
The leading theory on CBD for getting to sleep is that it calms you down and calm people fall asleep faster. Have you ever been not able to fall asleep because you’re worried about not falling asleep? CBD can help by balancing out your ECS and calming our mind and body. Additionally, CBD may be especially helpful for people with chronic pain as it helps mitigate the pain which is a major contributor to sleeplessness.
Improve Sleep Quality
CBD has also been shown to improve sleep quality by reducing REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), a condition that causes people to act out their dreams during REM sleep.
CBD can also help improve sleep quality in other ways—it’s been shown to slow down cognitive processing speed during the day, so when you go to bed at night, you’ll be able to relax more easily.
Anecdotally, many users report waking up feeling refreshed without the groginess typically associated with melatonin supplements.
Work Synergistically With Body’s Natural Hormones
Lastly, CBD has also been shown to work synergistically with naturally ocurring melatonin in the body. Melatonin plays a vital role in regulating our natural sleep-wake cycles, and low melatonin levels have been linked with insomnia. By taking CBD, you may be able to support your body’s proper production of this hormone and finally get the restful night’s sleep you’ve been dreaming of, without taking a melatonin supplement.
Takeaways
If you’re one of the millions of Americans suffering from insomnia, you may wonder if CBD could help you get some much-needed shut-eye. Although more research is needed on the topic, preliminary evidence suggests that CBD may have some sleep-promoting effects. So if you’re considering giving CBD a try for your insomnia, make sure to speak with your doctor first to see if it’s right for you—and have a goodnight!
