When To Take CBD Oil for Sleep? Maximizing Your Sleep
Do you know the feeling when you’ve been tossing and turning for the last several hours? Have you ever had nights where, when you look at the clock after what feels like ages, you realize only 15 minutes have passed? |
Sure, we all have occasions where an injury, fussy child, or unfamiliar environment can cost us sleep — but for some people, difficulty sleeping is their new normal. Let’s learn more about what can prevent high-quality sleep and what you can do about it.
What Can Prevent a Good Night’s Sleep?
One of the first steps to improving your sleep is to understand what’s causing the problem in the first place. Your every-night goal should be to achieve the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep, which is when your body rejuvenates and repairs itself.
There are many internal and external barriers to getting good quality, restful, and deep sleep. Some of these are physical and some mental, but all can contribute to a lack of high-quality REM sleep.
Physical Tension
Whether it’s muscle tension, discomfort from an injury, or discomfort from a lingering, constant condition, physical tension is one thing that could be stealing your sleep. This can be especially difficult if you’re suffering from chronic discomfort.
There are few things worse than staying up late because muscle tension, a headache, or a stomach problem is preventing your body from relaxing enough to go to sleep.
Emotional Turmoil
Emotional turmoil can sometimes be even harder to deal with than physical discomfort. A lost loved one, a broken relationship, or a big life change can all prevent you from getting sleep.
Angst brought on by fears of the future or feelings of hopelessness about something that happened in the past can all keep your brain going and prevent you from relaxing at night. Taking care of your mental health is crucial to achieving lasting, quality sleep!
Mental Barriers
Do you have a job that demands a lot of your mind? Sometimes, this can keep you lying awake for long hours, trying to clear your mind enough to catch some fleeting moments of sleep.
Maybe you have a big project due in the morning, an important meeting, or an uncomfortable situation that you need to deal with. It can be incredibly hard, even impossible, to ease your mind enough that it will let you go to sleep.
Diet and Lifestyle Factors
Your diet and lifestyle choices can also affect your ability to get a good night’s sleep.
Some factors that can affect your quality and duration of sleep include:
- Certain types of food and when you eat them
- A number of medications
- Drinks like tea or coffee
- Drinking alcohol
- Vaping or tobacco use
Could CBD Oil Help You Get the Sleep You Need?
There is an endless supply of supplements, pharmaceuticals, and related products that promise to help you achieve quality sleep, but many of these products require specific conditions to work and may have unpleasant side effects.
Could something like CBD oil help you replace the hours lost to missed sleep?
What Is CBD?
There’s a lot of confusion today about CBD, so let’s set some groundwork. First of all, CBD is not the same as THC.
While CBD and THC are both considered cannabinoids, THC is the compound that’s associated with intoxication and “getting high.” On the other hand, CBD is a separate cannabinoid that does not share any of these psychoactive effects.
CBD products that are broad-spectrum typically contain CBD along with a broad range of other potentially helpful compounds. However, they don’t include THC, which means they won’t get you “high.”
In contrast, full-spectrum products include CBD and may also include trace amounts of THC. The legal limit for THC content in full-spectrum CBD products is 0.3 percent.
What Does CBD Do?
CBD can interact with our endocannabinoid system, which is a network of sensors that work together to support our general wellness. By communicating with our endocannabinoid receptors, CBD can help ease tension, promote relaxation, and support our overall well-being.
Like any product, CBD should be used carefully and according to instructions. However, most people can take it with minimal side effects.
Could CBD Oil Help Me Sleep Better?
CBD oil may help you get more restful sleep by addressing underlying discomfort and easing feelings of stress. By promoting calmness and easing tension, CBD may help your body relax enough to fall asleep.
Additionally, if your natural sleep rhythm is disrupted by a change in routine, like an off-hours work schedule, CBD can help you get into a natural rhythm that promotes sleep.
How Can You Use CBD for Sleep?
There are several ways to use CBD for sleep, depending on your specific desired effects.
These include:
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Balms and creams: These are topical products that can be applied directly to the skin, particularly in an area where you’re experiencing discomfort. This can help soothe physical tension so that you can fall asleep.
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CBD gummies: These products are taken orally and can provide the benefits of CBD to a wider area of the body. By providing generalized relief from feelings of stress, CBD gummies can help ease your mind and body before bed.
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Tinctures and oils: These products can be conveniently administered with a dropper to provide benefits for the whole body. CBD tinctures and oils tend to kick in more quickly.
When using CBD oil, there are two main ways to consume the product.
Each bottle of oil comes with a dropper that you can use to measure out your dosage. Simply fill the dropper according to dosage instructions, place it under your tongue, and release the oil.
Another way to take CBD oil is by mixing it into a drink. Do you have a regular cup of coffee or tea in the morning? Simply fill the dropper and add the oil right into your beverage. There’s usually little to no impact on the flavor of your drink, making this a convenient way to add CBD oil to your daily routine.
When Should I Take CBD for Sleep?
Understanding the way that CBD interacts with your body can help you decide when you should take CBD to experience the most benefits for your sleep.
If you tend to experience a wave of stress when you first wake up, taking CBD first thing in the morning may help you find some relief from these feelings — but by the time you crawl into bed, these effects will likely have worn off.
Generally, the effects of CBD last between two to six hours, depending on which form of CBD you used.
CBD tinctures and oils tend to kick in more quickly than CBD gummies, which go through the digestive system, or CBD topicals, which are absorbed through the skin. CBD oils or tinctures may begin to have effects within 30 minutes, while CBD gummies may take up to an hour to begin providing benefits. That said, the effects of a CBD gummy also tend to last longer than those of a CBD oil or topical.
You should keep this in mind when deciding the best time of day to take CBD for sleep. Taking CBD in the afternoon, anywhere from noon to 3:00 p.m., may help you wind down as the day’s responsibilities dwindle, thus being conducive to a healthy nighttime routine and a good night of sleep.
However, taking CBD oil in the evening or as part of your bedtime routine can also work to ease your mind, soothe physical discomfort, and minimize feelings of muscle tension. If you do choose to use CBD right before going to bed, be mindful of when you take your dose — the key is to give your CBD enough time to kick in so that you start feeling the beneficial effects by the time you crawl into bed.
Should I Try CBD?
There are many different reasons why people turn to CBD. Perhaps you are dealing with sleeplessness and feel like you’ve tried everything else.
Maybe you just have occasional trouble sleeping, but you want a more natural way of dealing with it. Whatever the case, there are many good reasons to give CBD a try.
Try CBD Oil for Sleep Today
At MuscleMX, we pride ourselves in offering broad-spectrum, high-quality CBD products with basic, simple, and natural ingredients to help you feel better today.
Whether it’s a balm you can apply to areas of discomfort, a gummy to ease generalized feelings of stress or tension, or a tincture to help you get a more restful night’s sleep, we’re here for you! Take a look at our range of products and get started on the road to wellness today.
What is REM Sleep and How Much Do You Need? | Sleep Foundation
CBD: Safe and effective? | Mayo Clinic
Can CBD Help You Sleep? | Consumer Reports