Whether you find yourself wide awake at bedtime or toss and turn all night, few things are more frustrating—and potentially debilitating—as not being able to get a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, roughly three in 10 adults in the United States experience some form of short-term or long-term insomnia. Additionally, chronic sleeplessness afflicts around 10 percent of American adults at any given time.
The health and safety implications of inadequate rest are serious and far-reaching. Drowsy driving kills more than 1,500 people in the U.S. each year and injures another 40,000. Sleep deprivation is also closely associated with medical errors, which cause around 100,000 deaths per year.
Harmful Effects of Minimal Sleep
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), not getting enough sleep also raises individuals’ risk of chronic diseases. This includes diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, depression and obesity.
Despite the risks of inadequate sleep, many sufferers are reluctant to take prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids due to their considerable side effects. These can include erratic behavior, grogginess, headache, sleepwalking and memory loss. However, a new treatment has recently been identified. This offers new hope to sleep-deprived individuals looking for a natural sleep aid without all the side effects: CBD.
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of more than 100 varieties of chemical compounds called cannabinoids, which are found in cannabis plants, including both marijuana and hemp. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another cannabinoid commonly associated with cannabis plants, delivers the psychoactive “high” experience as a byproduct of marijuana consumption.
CBD, unlike THC, does not produce psychoactive effects on the body, but it is thought to offer a number of health and wellness benefits now being more thoroughly researched by scientists.
Is CBD Legal?
Both hemp and marijuana plants produce CBD, but the latter also produces significantly greater amounts of psychoactive THC. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the federal list of Schedule I substances, which caused a subsequent flood of CBD-related products onto the marketplace.
Hemp is now considered an agricultural commodity, which is legal for properly licensed growers to produce and sell as long as it contains less than .3 percent THC. However, state laws around CBD may vary, and marijuana and its byproducts—including CBD—remain illegal at the federal level.
How Does CBD Affect the Body?
While scientists don’t yet fully understand how CBD works in the body, they believe its effect is tied to receptors in the body’s endocannabinoid system, which receive and process stimuli from a variety of sources.
CBD appears to primarily impact receptors in the central and peripheral nervous systems, activating or inhibiting compounds like anandamide, which helps regulate pain. CBD also seems to have an overall anti-inflammatory effect on the body.
How Can CBD Help with Sleep?
Both short-term and chronic insomnia disruptions can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- Mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Painful physical conditions, such as back pain, restless leg syndrome and other chronic pain
- Stress
- Schedule changes
- Medication side effects
- Environmental factors such as noise or temperature
CBD Assistance in Sleep Conditions
Per early research, CBD can be helpful in addressing many of the conditions that contribute to poor sleep:
- Anxiety: A 2019 study showed that nearly 80 percent of subjects given one 25-milligram capsule of CBD daily reported reduced anxiety levels, and two-thirds reported improved sleep quality.
- Pain: According to a 2018 review of research published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, multiple studies have shown CBD to be effective in reducing pain levels, which can in turn help subjects sleep better.
- Chronic Disease: A study of patients with Parkinson’s Disease who also experienced REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), a condition that causes nightmares and poor sleep, found that CBD helped improve these symptoms.
The benefits of CBD on sleep quantity and quality
Even in people without other serious conditions that contribute to sleep loss, CBD appears to have beneficial effects on sleep quality and quantity. A 2014 review suggested that CBD could have therapeutic value in the treatment of insomnia, while a 2018 study published in the journal Medicines found that patients treated with cannabinoids reported a significant decrease in the severity of their insomnia symptoms.
What are the Side Effects of CBD?
Most health professionals consider CBD to be a relatively safe treatment option, with fewer side effects than prescription sleep medications or over-the-counter remedies. The most commonly reported side effects of CBD are fatigue, diarrhea and changes in appetite and weight.
Before starting CBD treatment for insomnia, talk to your doctor to rule out potentially serious conditions that might be contributing to poor sleep quality. Your doctor can also provide guidance about potential interactions between CBD and medications you’re already taking.
What Dose of CBD Works Best for Sleep?
While much study remains to be done, existing research suggests that higher doses of CBD may be more effective than lower doses in treating insomnia and its underlying causes. A study published in 2004 found that 15-milligram doses of CBD didn’t help users fall asleep and in some cases, even kept them awake. However, this study combined CBD with THC and also had a small sample size of just eight participants.
The previously mentioned 2019 study used doses of 25 milligrams with a good track record of success. An earlier study found doses of 150 to 160 milligrams to be effective in treating insomnia as well as epilepsy and social anxiety disorder but noted that these doses could also contribute to a feeling of mental fogginess or sedation.
What Form of CBD Should I Use?
CBD can be administered in a variety of forms, each with its own pros and cons.
Vaping
CBD can be consumed through handheld vaporizing devices, typically referred to as “vape pens.” These devices heat up a small amount of CBD oil until it boils and vaporizes, allowing users to inhale it. Vaping allows CBD to enter the bloodstream very quickly—within 30 seconds in many cases—but it also subjects users to restrictions on smoking and vaping in public places.
Some CBD cartridges used in vape pens also contain the solvent propylene glycol, which may increase cancer risk, so look for cartridges labeled “solvent-free.”
Tinctures
Tinctures are CBD-infused oils administered directly under the tongue through a dropper or spray. This is the quickest delivery method after vaping, with CBD entering the bloodstream 15 to 30 minutes after it is taken; however, even tinctures flavored with peppermint or cinnamon can have an unpleasant herbal aftertaste.
When using tinctures, be sure to shake the bottle well before administering the product, since CBD can settle or get stuck on the sides of the bottle.
Edibles and pills
The market is filled with gummies, beverages and other edible forms of CBD (as well as flavorless capsules or pills). Because the CBD in these products is absorbed through the digestive system, it may take more than 30 minutes or even an hour for you to feel their effects.
However, this slower release can help you stay asleep longer than a fast-acting form of CBD. Like tinctures, CBD edibles can have a grassy undertone that not all users will enjoy.
Topical creams and balms
These products are applied directly to the skin and are intended to treat pain or inflammation in a specific area of the body, so they may not be effective for treating insomnia unless pain is a major contributing factor to your sleep issues.
How to Identify Quality Sleep With CBD Products
With dozens of new CBD products flooding the marketplace after the legalization of hemp, oversight in the industry is minimal, with the FDA and other agencies doing little to guarantee the health and wellness claims made by purveyors of CBD.
Until rigorous industry standards become the norm, there’s no guarantee that the product you buy will contain the concentration of CBD advertised on the label, so you’ll need to do take a few extra steps before purchasing to increase your odds of getting a quality product.
Know why you want to use CBD and which form you need
You should have a clear objective in taking CBD, whether it’s to improve sleep quality, reduce back pain, quell anxiety or some other outcome. If you’re just taking it because it’s the trendy new health product, you’re unlikely to experience measurable results. Your purpose in taking CBD will help guide you to the optimal form of the compound, such as fast-acting vape pens for anxiety or topical creams for localized pain.
Make sure the product is made from hemp, not marijuana
Not only does this prevent potential legal implications, but it also prevents any unwanted psychoactive effects that could occur due to small amounts of THC that might end up in the product.
Check the source of the hemp
Most of the CBD products sold in the U.S. are sourced from Colorado, Oregon or Kentucky or are sourced from overseas. Domestically, Colorado has the most rigorous state inspection program, with spot-testing conducted by the state agriculture department to test for THC, illegal pesticides and more.
Products made from foreign hemp aren’t subject to any federal testing and could contain harmful chemicals or other additives, so if you choose to purchase these, do as much research on the company as you can.
Request test results from the producer
Ask the company you’re considering making a purchase from for a certificate of analysis (COA) for the product. The COA includes the results of testing for CBD and THC levels as well as contaminants. The COA may also state whether the lab meets ISO 17025 standards or uses testing methods validated by the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC), American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP), or U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP).
All of these are reliable indicators of a quality product. If the company or retailer doesn’t have the COA or refuses to share it, take your business elsewhere.
Verify the CBD concentration per dose if possible
Many CBD products are labeled with the amount of CBD contained in the entire package, but per-dose concentrations are a more useful metric since that’s how you’ll actually be using the product. If a tincture boasts 600 milligrams of CBD on the label but contains 20 doses, the amount of CBD you’ll be getting with each use is significantly lower than you might think at first glance.
You should also avoid buying products that simply list the total amount of cannabinoids without specifying the CBD content; these “broad-spectrum” products may contain a high percentage of the 100-plus other cannabinoids that don’t have the same therapeutic effects as CBD.
Steer clear of products that promise too much
The research on the effects of CBD is still quite limited, and scientists are only beginning to identify and verify the potential therapeutic uses of the compound. If a product makes sweeping claims or promises to cure or completely eliminate conditions like cancer, heart disease or migraines, you’re probably better off choosing a different supplier.
Final Thoughts
While more testing is needed to confirm CBD’s usefulness in treating insomnia and other health concerns, early research gives reason for optimism. Before you begin using CBD, consult your doctor and do your research before selecting a product.
Start with a small dose to discover how your body responds to the compound and increase the dosage as needed. Most importantly, follow the emerging research so you can separate CBD-related health claims based on scientific reality from mere marketing hype.