It’s true that sleep is one of the essential parts of our daily lives. Aside from letting our body and mind recharge to accomplish many things the following day, it also affects our overall wellness. When we get a quality night’s sleep, we help our immune system get stronger to fight certain diseases. We also help our body achieve its optimal metabolic rate, which aids us in maintaining our ideal weight and lessens our risks of developing serious health problems associated with weight gain. In addition, getting high-quality sleep affects our mood and socialisation.
Unfortunately, with so many things going on in our day-to-day life, there are factors that affect our sleeping patterns, which hinder us from achieving restorative sleep. This often results in experiencing difficulty dozing off at the end of the day and getting a healthy amount of sleep regularly. What’s worse is it can result in sleep disorders like insomnia.
While there are sleep aids available in the market, such as melatonin, another supplement has been gaining the spotlight. Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, is a hemp plant derivative that is suggested to benefit our overall wellness, including sleep improvement.
With its growing popularity, it is now widely available and can be purchased from many places like health food stores, dispensaries, or over the internet.
What do they say about CBD and sleep?
There are many things that can disrupt our sleep-wake cycle. Aside from our physical activities, contributing factors, such as exposure to blue lights from gadgets, stress from work, and even pain, can keep us up at night, resulting in poor quality and inadequate sleep.
CBD is suggested to interact with our endocannabinoid system, which is responsible for regulating many of our body responses, including sleep, pain, emotion, metabolism, memory, and more.
While some people are skeptical about the effects of CBD on the body, many who have struggled with sleeplessness report that they have felt relief after using CBD. In fact, 2019 scientific research published by The Permanente Journal about the impact of CBD on anxiety and sleep suggests that CBD has positive effects for both conditions. Amongst 72 participants, 66.7% exhibited higher sleep scores, and 79.2% showed lower anxiety levels.
Another 2018 study published by the Frontiers in Pharmacology journal suggested that CBD has a promising therapeutic effect on pain. It has found positive outcomes from its animal models after using CBD to soothe acute nociceptive, neuropathic, and inflammatory pain.
Although there is limited research about CBD and sleep, preliminary studies and anecdotal evidence continue to rise, which only shows that CBD has a lot of potential not only in the improvement of sleep but also in alleviating discomforts and aiding the body to achieve its optimum wellness.
How much CBD should you take?
Knowing how much CBD to take is important to achieve your desired result, as many factors, such as your weight, height, levels of activities, and tolerance, play a role in figuring out how much CBD your body needs.
Because CBD is personalized, the effects of this compound also vary depending on the reason you are using it for. Hence, it is important to remember that when taking CBD, always consider starting at a low dose and slowly increasing them. A great tool to determine how much CBD your body needs is a CBD calculator to help you determine the best dose that suits you.
CBD Forms Available
Because not everyone has the same preference, CBD is made available in different forms. Whether you prefer taking them orally or using them topically, there is a CBD format that suits you. Below are the CBD forms available in the market:
CBD oil
This format is one of the most preferred ways of using CBD. You can take it sublingually or under the tongue or mix it in your food and drinks. Aside from different flavours, you can also find high-strength CBD tinctures or low-potency options like 10% CBD oil.
CBD capsules or softgels
This format is similar to most oral supplements in the market, which you can take daily.
CBD edibles
These are snacks infused with CBD, such as cookies, brownies, gummies, or chocolates.
CBD vape liquids
This format comes in different flavours, which you can use with your vape devices.
CBD topicals
This format includes joint and muscle balms and massage oils that you can apply directly onto your skin for targeted relief.
CBD skin care
These products are CBD-infused, and you include them in your skincare routine either morning or nighttime.
Effects of Getting Enough Sleep
Many individuals have different definitions of what a night of good sleep is, and often the sleeping routine or pattern they are used to is enough for them. But what does it mean to have a restorative sleep? Below are indications of good quality sleep:
- You can fall asleep within 30 minutes when you go to bed;
- You sleep throughout the night without waking up many times;
- You can quickly go back to sleep in less than 20 minutes if you do wake up in the middle of the night;
- You get to achieve the recommended number of hours depending on your age;
- You wake up in the morning feeling rested, restored, and energised;
- You feel clear-headed and in a good mood when you wake up.
While obtaining good sleep affects you positively, here are the opposite effects that you may experience when you have trouble getting enough sleep:
- It’s difficult for you to wake up in the morning;
- You struggle to focus and feel sleepy during the day;
- You easily get irritated;
- You feel depressed or anxious;
- You require daytime naps;
- You sleep longer on random days.
Tips for a Better Sleep
Aside from taking supplements, there are lifestyle modifications that you can do to help you sleep faster and get a restful sleep at night.
- Make your bedroom conducive for sleeping;
- Avoid or lessen your caffeine and alcohol intake;
- Don’t use any product containing nicotine;
- Make it a habit to stick to a strict sleep schedule and practise getting adequate total sleep time;
- Avoid taking naps during the day;
- Check the medication you take to see if it causes you to feel sleepy or make you feel awake;
- Maintain an active lifestyle;
- Find ways to relax.
Take Away
Making it a priority to let our body and mind rest is beneficial for our overall health. When the body gets adequate good quality sleep, not only do we lessen our chances of getting sick and developing severe diseases, but we also get to become our best selves. However, remember that achieving the recommended hours of sleep isn’t enough to say that we are getting a night of restorative sleep. It should be composed of adequate time and a regular uninterrupted sleeping pattern. Although this can be difficult to achieve at times, there are always ways and remedies that you can try, like CBD, to help you improve your sleep.
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