Sleep and sleeping problems
Everyone has a bad night once in a while. It could be because you’re worried, you’ve been looking at a screen too much that day, or something you ate. Often it is over after one night of bad sleep.
But there are also people who have chronic poor sleep. The problems that arise then go further than just fatigue. You get headaches and muscle aches, you may get dizzy or hallucinate, and you become irritable. There are many reasons why some people suffer from chronic lack of sleep, which vary from person to person.
Sleep and CBD oil
People with sleeping problems appeared to have good experiences with CBD. That prompted several researchers to study CBD. They discovered that our own bodies have a system that also produces cannabinoids, the endocannabinoid system or the ECS. The endocannabinoids we produce are so similar to the phytocannabinoids produced by the plant that our bodies recognize them as their own. That is why CBD is so easily absorbed by the body and has no side effects.
In addition to pain relief, better sleep was one of the first promising properties of CBD. Why it works so well for sleeping problems is not yet completely clear because the phenomenon of sleep itself is very complicated. It is clear that the soothing and relaxing effect of CBD plays a major role in this.
Researching CBD and Sleep
Various studies have shown that CBD improves sleep, both in terms of hours of sleep per night and quality of sleep. Below we discuss a number of studies and their results:
- Soldiers who slept poorly after their war experiences and often woke up at night with nightmares improved their sleep with CBD. This happened over a period of several months, although most felt a degree of calm and relaxation soon after the first use that made them fall asleep faster.
- In a study of 72 adult people with all anxiety and sleeping problems, the degree of anxiety and sleeping problems was determined in advance by the researchers. The participants then took 25 mg of CBD daily. The predominantly anxious people took it in the morning, the especially poorly sleeping participants in the evening. After one month, 57 participants had decreased anxiety and 48 reported that they were sleeping better. The decreased anxiety remained stable throughout the study. The sleeping behavior showed slightly more movement, but according to a natural pattern and without strange outliers. The results showed that CBD helps to reduce sleep problems, according to the researchers.
- In 2018, a study was completed in which 409 people were followed for two years. They suffered from insomnia, or insomnia. The degree of insomnia varied and was assessed by the researchers on a scale of 1 to 10. At the start of the study, the average was 6.6. The researchers used multiple treatment methods, using both THC and CBD separately. The use of THC turned out to be less beneficial, partly due to side effects. CBD, however, gave positive results. However, the design of the study did not allow conclusive conclusions to be drawn. It became clear that CBD significantly reduced sleep problems. But the doses administered to participants ranged from 5 to 30 percent CBD. And the researchers dared, by using full spectrum CBD, it is impossible to say whether the beneficial effect was caused by CBD, the entourage effect or one, or more, of the other cannabinoids present. Full spectrum CBD consists in addition to a lot of CBD (Cannabidiol) from all other cannabinoids, except THC (the psychoactive cannabinoid).
- In early 2012, doctors started treating a 7-year-old girl who was diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). She had been sexually assaulted at the age of 3. Shortly before the treatment, her father had died in a motorcycle accident. Her alcoholic mother had a methadone addiction. The girl was under the guardianship of her grandparents. The PTSD manifested itself in anxiety, insomnia and self-destructive behavior. After the usual medication and therapy did not help, CBD was started in early 2015. Before going to sleep, the now 10-year-old girl was given 25 mg of CBD. This helped somewhat. Her sleep improved and the anxiety diminished. To further improve sleep, she was given extra CBD twice during the day at a dose of 6 to 12 mg.
What CBD dosage do you use before sleeping?
How many drops do you need and when do you take them? The best time to take the drops is just before going to bed. How many drops you need is a matter of experimentation. Everyone is different and the causes of the sleeping problems are different.
So start with 2 drops under your tongue and see what effect that has. Hold the drops under your tongue for a minute before swallowing. This ensures that the CBD is better absorbed.
Keep in mind that the CBD oil works immediately, but it takes about 5 days before you notice the maximum effect of daily dripping. If the effect of the drops is not yet sufficient, take an extra drop over the next few days and see what that does again. Continue in this way until the desired effect is achieved.
You can’t take too much CBD. If the body ingests too much CBD, the excess will be removed. It is not necessary at all to take a lot of drops at the same time. A few drops is enough to get your body to work.
