CBD for Sleep | The Best Natural Sleep Aid

For the last couple of years, people have been ditching their current sleep aids and swapping them for a natural alternative. Here is why people are using CBD oil for sleep, and prefer a natural sleep aid. CBD has become the #1 choice to help get to sleep, naturally.

Nearly 70 million Americans suffer from various sleep disorders, where the #1 sleep disorder is insomnia. American adults have been spending nearly $41 billion on different solutions to help them get a decent night’s sleep. This includes prescription sleep medication and over-the-counter medicine, which can be dangerous in the long run for the body.

Since the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (or also known as the Farm Bill) legalized CBD, people have been more apt to trying natural alternatives to aid in various areas of their life; pain, anxiety, and insomnia.

Getting a quality night’s sleep is critical to not only make it to work the next day, or take the kids to school, but also for the overall health of the individual. Trouble sleeping is quite common. More than 1/3 of Americans report that they have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep in general. But how do we resolve this skyrocketing problem?

CBD could be the answer. CBD oil has been clinically shown to help people fall asleep faster and sleep better overall. No wonder, people are turning to CBD to help aid in their slumber. But how does CBD oil help you sleep? Let’s examine CBD in further detail as to why CBD oil is a safer, natural sleep aid.   

CBD Oil May Reduce Anxiety

Have you ever gone to bed, tried to go to sleep at a reasonable hour only to have your mind racing all night? You’re not alone. According to the Mayo Clinic, one of the most common reasons for insomnia or trouble sleeping is stress or anxiety.  

CBD insomnia aids may help ease your stress and quiet your mind by regulating your cortisol levels. Cortisolis a steroid hormone that is produced by your body’s adrenal gland. It is responsible for helping you respond to stress, among many other things like adrenaline. When you awake for the day, your cortisol levels are at the highest and decrease throughout the day. Many people experience a “second wind” in the evening, where your cortisol levels have spiked, thus making it difficult to sleep come bedtime. When you have increased levels of cortisol, your body goes into “fight or flight” mode, which can cause mood swings and anxiety. 

Fortunately, CBD oil can help to moderate your cortisol levels, which helps ease your mind and makes it easier to fall asleep. At high concentrations, CBD directly activates the 5-HT1A (hydroxytryptamine) serotonin receptor, therefore creating an anti-anxiety effect.

CBD May Help Ease Physical Pain

Physical factors such as chronic pain can also play a role when trying to get a restful night’s sleep. If you find yourself trying to get comfortable around the pain you may be enduring, it will surely have an impact on your sleep. Chronic pain can include back pain, neck pain, knee pain, headaches, etc. which can cause great discomfort and poor sleep.

In 2016, the CDC had estimated that roughly 50 million adults experience some form of chronic pain. With that, chronic pain prescription medications contribute to an estimated $560 billion each year. 

There are several ways to take CBD to help with physical pain such as tinctures (liquid form) or topically. Ingesting CBD via tinctures can help aid in long term sleep, and topical CBD can ease the local pain. 

When you consume CBD via tincture, it is quickly absorbed through blood vessels when dropped under the tongue, bypassing the digestive system. For immediate therapeutic relief, this method is best especially when you want to induce sleep and relief from pain. The simplest way is to drop the CBD tincture under your tongue and holding for at least 10 seconds before swallowing. 

When CBD is taken via topical form, the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is activated. This system is responsible for our sensations like pleasure or pain. Once the CBD is applied to the skin, the CBD binds to the skin cell receptors present in the muscle tissues, skin, and nerves. This is then how CBD alleviates both pain and inflammation.

CBN: Cannabinol and Sleep

CBN or Cannabinol is another cannabinoid found in small amounts in the cannabis plant.  While there is no clear evidence at this point that CBN is sedative, there have been studies done where CBN had prolonged sleep-time on mice. 

While getting CBN, high-quality products can be pricey or near impossible, broad-spectrum or full-spectrum products contain minor traces of cannabinoid. Therefore, sticking to a full-plant extract is suggested to reach quality, deep sleep.

No Groggy Mornings or ‘Hangover’ with CBD 

If you have taken sleeping pills to help you dive right into a deep sleep, you may wake up feeling groggy or still drowsy, especially with only a few hours of sleep versus a solid 8 hours. A 2018 Consumer Reports survey noted that 6 out of 10 people who take sleep medication wake up feeling drowsy and not refreshed as they had hoped.

Sleep medications have risky long-term complications, affecting the brain and the body. It simply slows the activity of the brain and central nervous system. This can lead to Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other complications or diseases. Daniel Buysse, M.D., UPMC professor of sleep medicine and professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine stated that sleep medications only help increase sleep time by 30 minutes.

No one wants to suffer these health problems in the future, so turning to natural alternatives for sleep aid is so crucial to the human body. Turning to CBD is a perfect example and natural alternative to aid in sleep without feeling groggy the next day as well as preventing long-term effects on the brain and body.

It is also mentionable that consuming THC can have similar drowsy effects after using it to induce sleep. Although with limited research, it is common for those who utilize THC to feel a ‘weed hangover’ like grogginess or headaches when overly consumed. 

If you are thinking about using cannabis for sleep without the hangover, groggy feeling, it is suggested to use CBD instead of THC for calming effects and help induce sleep. 

Final Takeaway

• CBD may help relieve anxiety by moderating cortisol levels and alleviate stress.
• Ingesting CBD oil drops is one of the best ways to gain the full benefits of CBD and aid in quality sleep.
• Topically applying CBD can relieve stress symptoms like body tension as well as chronic pain and inflammation.
• CBD may help induce sleep without feeling groggy upon wake or feeling “hungover”.