Sleeping problems can have a number of different root causes. Anxiety and pain are two common reasons that people may struggle to fall asleep or to stay asleep, and there is good evidence that CBD can have a beneficial effect on both, which in turn may lead to improved sleep.
A 2011 review of studies into the effect of cannabinoids including CBD on chronic pain found that they had significant success in reducing symptoms and were a safe alternative to existing medications.
A 2015 review, looking at how CBD may treat anxiety, concluded that the combined research “strongly supports CBD as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder”.
Meanwhile, a retrospective study of 72 psychiatric patients looked at the effect CBD had on both anxiety and sleep disorders together. It found that almost 80% of subjects saw a reduction in anxiety during their first month of taking CBD while 67% reported improved sleep during the same period.
CBD has also been shown to substantially improve a REM (dream) sleep disorder known as RBD that causes nightmares and active behaviour during sleep in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
A review of research into the effects of cannabinoids on sleep disorders supported the above evidence, concluding that CBD may have the potential for treating insomnia, REM sleep disorders and excessive daytime sleepiness but noting that research into CBD and sleep is in its early stages and that further studies are required.
How To Take CBD Oil For Sleep And When To Take
CBD is sold in a range of products including chewable ‘gummy’ sweets, capsules, creams, vaping liquids and bottled oils. When considering taking CBD to help with sleep you are likely to want a relatively fast-acting form that can be taken not long before bed. It’s also worth considering which products, and methods of consuming them, are the most efficient – that is, which allow the most CBD to enter your bloodstream without being lost along the way.
Vaping is the fastest acting and most efficient way to take CBD oil for sleep, with any effects potentially felt within minutes and the largest proportion of CBD absorbed. However, there are still serious concerns over the safety of vaping itself and inhalation may not be for everyone, especially right before bed.
The next fastest acting and most efficient method of taking CBD is to use CBD oil sublingually, which simply means under the tongue. Use the built-in dropper in the bottle to place a measured amount of oil under your tongue and hold it there for a minute or two before swallowing. This allows the CBD to penetrate the blood vessel-rich membrane under the tongue where a good proportion of it is absorbed into the bloodstream, usually within 20 to 30 minutes.
