Sleep is one of the essential things humans need in life. Going without it for a few days can lead to fatal consequences that include damage to the body organs and tissues that will surely affect the life of an individual. It can even lead to death. The lack of proper sleep can severely affect one’s physical, emotional, and mental health, since rest is considered as one of the essential needs of the body. Sleep is the state wherein your body temporarily shuts down itself to heal and recuperate. It regains the energy lost while being awake and while doing everyday activities or work, and heals any injuries (both internally and externally) during that said state especially when one has successfully undergone surgery or a procedure beforehand.
Most experts say that every person should have enough hours of sleep, depending on their age and their condition, and we couldn’t agree more on their statement (after all, sleeping is one of the best things to do when you want to laze around the whole day instead of being awake while doing nothing). But what exactly is the right amount of sleep for a regular person? Also, how do cannabidiol (CBD) oils affect sleep? Lastly, do CBD oils for sleep really work?
Today in this article, we will look into some of the answers to those questions mentioned above, no matter how miniscule those answers are.
Importance of Healthy, Sufficient Sleep
Due to the current events around the world today, and the ever-fast evolving pace of technology that comes with economic growth in most successful countries worldwide, many people globally are losing precious amounts of sleeping hours throughout their current lifetime.
As mentioned earlier, the leading factor in people not having enough sleep is due to our current technology, specifically, smartphones of today, that are constantly evolving, making us connected globally through a digital connection more than ever before, but at the extent of sleep deprivation. Right now, many medical experts, smartphone manufacturers, and even governing bodies are cooperating to combat this nasty side effect of the information age of today’s society.
Another factor in the lack of proper sleep is the current hectic and fast-paced lifestyle of the modern man and their habits in society. Some busy parents or individuals have less time to sleep and rest. Due to how our lifestyle greatly changed rapidly to adjust to the growing technology and economic boom, most of us must adhere to this change or be left behind if we don’t. This causes them to have improper sleep hours throughout their lifetime, again causing both temporary and permanent changes to their physical, mental, and emotional states drastically.
To combat those problems, experts are pushing for a proper sleep cycle for every person, with the appropriate amount of sleeping hours. However, this may not be true for every person, as it will significantly vary according to their daily activities, age and needs.
Do note that the number of sleep hours pertains to healthy, sufficient sleep, and good, high-quality sleep. The number of sleep hours would be irrelevant if the quality of sleep is poor or very bad.
This is where CBD oils’ potential for sleep comes in, as it greatly helps one that is suffering from either poor/bad sleep or a lack of sleeping hours. We will discuss how CBD oils benefit the user in the next paragraphs below.
CBD Oils for Sleep: Are They Effective?
Thanks to many various studies made by most experts on CBD worldwide, it has been proven that CBD has the huge potential to help people who are having problems with their sleep, either the lack of or the excess of sleep, respectively. It also acts as healthy support for those who want to improve their sleep and its quality.
Most studies have proven that CBD has properties that are homeostatic and anxiolytic, that can be useful against known sleeping problems such as anxiety and poor quality of sleep itself. During the said study, they have observed that the adults who participated in their studies with both anxiety and sleeping problems have their conditions greatly improved after being given CBD as a form of regular medication for at least two months, wherein their anxiety has greatly lessened, and their sleep quality has greatly improved.
However, do take note that not all of those participating in the said study didn’t have positive results like the others; some have experienced their symptoms gradually worsening over time, even after regular intakes of CBD. This shows that CBD is not for everyone, and users must take their doctor’s advice on taking CBD as a form of medication for their anxiety and sleeping problems.
Still, experts are not giving up on the positive potential shown by CBD when it comes to becoming a potential medication for sleep-related problems in the near future. Various studies and experiments are still being done by them to understand CBD and its possible benefits fully.
CBD Oils For Sleep: How To Use
Like any form of medication, the dosage of CBD oils for sleep will greatly vary from person to person, as mentioned earlier in this article. Additionally, various factors will be considered when it comes to the proper amount of dosage in using CBD oils for sleep. These factors that are taken into consideration, but not limited to, are listed below:
- Individual’s age
- Metabolism
- CBD responsiveness
There are currently two known methods of using CBD oils for sleep: daytime usage and nighttime usage (before going to bed). Below are the details on how each method is done:
For Daytime Use – when it comes to this method, the user will apply the oil before doing their daily chores or activities, since CBD can act as a wake-promoting agent. CBD may give the user wakefulness during the day, which results in the user being more sleepy when night comes.
For Nighttime Use – this method is best used before going to bed, along with a small amount of melatonin, as it helps the effects of oil to be metabolized faster by the body. This further results in a deeper sleep that usually sets off faster than usual, providing more restful sleep in the process.
Melatonin: How Does It Help?
As mentioned earlier in the nighttime use of CBD oils for sleep, we have mentioned that melatonin acts to promote sleep along with CBD oil use. These two should be used before going to bed for maximum effects.
But what exactly is melatonin? It is a natural hormone produced by the body, coming from a special gland called the pineal gland, which is essential to the body as this gland determines whether it is currently day or night.
When a person is suffering from anxiety or intense stress, the said gland tends to produce less melatonin as an effect. Therefore, the use of CBD oil along with a certain amount of melatonin can help the body get sleep even though it is suffering from various physical and mental issues. CBD oil increases the amount of melatonin in one’s system and this will help the user sleep faster during the night and will help them wake up better when daylight breaks out.
CBD Oils for Sleep: Is This For You?
Now, after seeing those facts about CBD oils for sleep, the next logical question would be: should you use CBD oils for your sleeping problems (if there’s any at all)? The answer to this question is quite tricky since it will highly depend on many factors, especially on yourself, and the advice of your doctor who may have the knowledge about CBD, sleeping problems, and their accompanying conditions and symptoms overall.
Before taking any CBD oil for sleeping, we advise that you check with your doctor first before doing anything else on your own. In that way, any potential misuse of both CBD and melatonin and their possible harm from potential side effects can be averted. Alternatively, you will feel from your end the maximum positive effects of both items when used correctly.
Overall Conclusion
As we have mentioned in this article, the use of CBD oils for sleep will highly depend on you — your physical, mental, and emotional health to be exact, along with the sound advice of your doctor and the results of your consultation beforehand.
Additionally, check with your local governing body if the usage of such forms of cannabis-related products is allowed in your location, either partial usage or full usage of cannabis in general. We don’t want you to get into some trouble due to the use of cannabis-related items on your end, as that would be a big shame for you and us who provided this valuable information to you about CBD oils.