There is often confusion on where CBD comes from, whether it’s legal and would it cause any sort of ‘high’, yet alone make a difference for people who have trouble getting to sleep at the end of the day.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is legal and the most dominant and medicinally potent of the over 120 cannabinoids from the cannabidiol-rich hemp and marijuana plants. It is extracted primarily from strains that are THC free and as a result, will never produce any euphoric ‘high’ feeling typically associated with cannabis. To ensure you receive a good quality product check for quality ingredients and strict testing adhered to as part of the product manufacture such as Goodbody Wellness.
There are many facts and figures on CBD and sleep as well as various studies into the usefulness of the supplement for people who want a better, easier night’s sleep. But we have to, as always, specify that at this time it’s not a strictly confirmed conclusion. However, we’ll do the best we can to correlate some of the early investigations into the topic.
How CBD interacts with your body
The main way CBD users experience the supplement is through the body’s endocannabinoid system, a series of nerve receptors which interact with your body via the introduction of cannabinoids, of which CBD is one of. The phenomenon of cannabis having such profound effects on the body is all to do with this system, a remarkable natural coincidence where plant particles have just the right configuration in order to change the way we feel.
Another property of the endocannabinoid system being interacted with by using CBD is it can have an effect on the body’s Gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA receptors, which are important in the transmission of neural information throughout your body and the body’s internal biological clock responsible for the promotion and maintenance of sleep. CBD also seems to influence serotonin receptors too – which have a noted influence on mood and feelings.
All of this means using CBD may have a more subtle influence on your day and how you feel than the THC ‘high’, including most notably helping people warm down after a workout without using painkillers. All Goodbody Wellness CBD products are THC free.
How a good night’s sleep improves your day
Obviously the most important part about using CBD for improving your sleep is the benefit of good sleep itself. This is all very well known – good sleep improves concentration, mood, energy and in some cases even the way our bodies feel physically. Our overreliance on caffeine, long working hours, stressful routines, bad diets, use of alcohol, poor exercise, and the general strain of living in modern human civilisation all contribute to bad sleep experiences – a vicious cycle which is hard to get out of without an extreme amount of willpower on the part of the individual.
For some people, getting sleep can be additionally hampered by anxiety and stress, as well as by physical concerns such as a bad environment to sleep in, noise, and physical pain. Gut pain and bad digestion have a huge impact on sleep, and it’s important to note that the gut/brain barrier and the endocannabinoid system are somewhat related – CBD is absorbed primarily by ingestion and takes a little while to reach the receptors because it must first travel through the gut and stomach. This means that your tummy and tummy problems can really hamper sleep.
Experts also recommend that the average human get somewhere in the ballpark of 6-8 hours of sleep per 24 hours, and preferably during the night, although some people find sleep timing more difficult due to conditions like insomnia. Some people find sleeping difficult and can’t achieve the more beneficial NREM sleep that we need to fully recover – only making it to the earlier less restive REM sleep state. This is all based on the concept of neurodiversity – our bodies are all quite unique, and this is another part of understanding CBD too. It interacts with a nervous system that’s different for everyone and can produce vastly different results.
CBD Sleep Studies
At present a few different scientific studies have been conducted around CBD and sleep which offer an early insight into the possibility of the use of CBD to help treat insomnia. Patients are often prescribed medication designed to aid sleep by artificially reducing anxiety or induce sleep via chemical means, but studies like this one here have begun to suggest that CBD may also possibly be linked with sleep. It’s a bit more difficult to conclude on how cannabinoids work because they tend to have different effects on different people, but the research indicated that.
Another interesting factor with research into cannabinoids is how there are man-made cannabinoids already on the market which have been already used in limited ways to help with sleep. These synthetic products often have vastly different, sometimes disruptive effects on the body compared to CBD, so it’s interesting to note that the natural hemp products are a more reliable choice, despite being a little bit more unpredictable.
A second study here conducted with the aim of reducing sleep disturbances in a patient with post-traumatic stress disorder had some interesting and promising results. One of the difficulties patients who have suffered trauma have is maintaining and getting to sleep, and the study concluded that CBD oil may indeed have a quality which helped the patient rest more easily when taken over a long period of time.
Will CBD help me sleep?
Although a few studies are now out it’s still a little difficult to conclude anything with a 100% degree of certainty, but if you’re having difficulty with sleep CBD is definitely something you could consider trying during your wind-down routine before you go to bed. There are many other less natural remedies, as well as herbal ones, which are designed to do the same thing, but as with all things testing out what’s available and seeing what works best is probably a good idea.
You can find CBD oils, tinctures and tablets on our Goodbody Wellness store, and all of these contain enough CBD for you to make an informed decision on whether the cannabinoid supplement can help you out. As always, we recommend taking it over a longer period and of course to always read the label.
Goodbody products are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. The information and products presented on this site are not intended for medical use nor do they make any medical claims. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program.
Discover the CBD world of sleep
References
Cannabis, Cannabinoids, and Sleep: a Review of the Literature.
Babson KA1, Sottile J2, Morabito D3.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28349316
Effectiveness of Cannabidiol Oil for Pediatric Anxiety and Insomnia as Part of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Report
Scott Shannon, MD, ABIHM