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CBD Oil For Insomnia and Sleep Issues Treatment
Tired of tossing and turning? Have you heard about taking CBD for insomnia as a treatment?
I have had insomnia for as long as I can remember. I didn’t even know what normal sleep was, until I tried CBD oil. Waking up about a million times in the night is not fun, especially when it takes forever just to even fall asleep.
Being someone who explores every outlook to solve my problems, I got tired of hearing the same advice when it comes to insomnia. Yes my room is pitch black, yes it is at a comfortable temperature, yes I do relaxing activities before bed… I have tried everything and I am sure most of you have too. While good sleeping habits are important in treating insomnia–for some of us–that alone hasn’t restored sleep.
Is CBD (cannabidiol) really an effective treatment for insomnia and sleep issues?
Let’s find out how CBD improved my sleep and made me find out what I had been missing all these years, and I’ll even talk about the effectiveness of CBD over sleep drugs for insomnia.
First let’s talk about insomnia
Some Info on Insomnia
What is insomnia?
Insomnia is simply having difficulty falling and staying asleep.
According to sciencedaily.com:
About 25 percent of Americans experience acute insomnia each year
That is a crazy amount of people suffering from insomnia. Sleep is so vital to the human body, as it is restorative.
According to Webmd, some common causes of insomnia are:
- Keeping odd hours
- Napping during the day
- Drinking too much coffee and alcohol
- Staying up late
- Worrying
- Some physical illnesses
- Mental health problems
- Medication
As for myself, I had noticed that since I was younger I have had a hard time sleeping and my mind must have gotten accustomed to this pattern and has left me with some form of insomnia every night.
It’s hard to function when you lack sleep.
In a bit I am going to get to, how important CBD is in treating insomnia.
First I am going to discuss why sleep is important.
What Does Sleep Do?
Sleep is extremely important in how we function. I guess that’s why we spend a third of our lives sleeping.
According to sleep foundation:
One of the vital roles of sleep is to help us solidify and consolidate memories. As we go about our day, our brains take in an incredible amount of information. Rather than being directly logged and recorded, however, these facts and experiences first need to be processed and stored; and many of these steps happen while we sleep. Overnight, bits and pieces of information are transferred from more tentative, short-term memory to stronger, long-term memory—a process called “consolidation.” Researchers have also shown that after people sleep, they tend to retain information and perform better on memory tasks. Our bodies all require long periods of sleep in order to restore and rejuvenate, to grow muscle, repair tissue, and synthesize hormones.
Okay, now has CBD oil treated my insomnia.
CBD Oil For My Insomnia and Sleep Issues: Treatment
The Beginning of the Insomnia Treatment
As I have mentioned earlier I have always had a hard time sleeping. Me and insomnia are best friends. Just when I thought my sleep couldn’t get any worse I had an experience where my sleep quality dramatically dropped. If you could have visualized the quality of my sleep, it would have looked like a plummeting stock.
Recently, before trying CBD oil I had an experience with some of the worst anxiety and phobias I have ever had. As a result I had months of horrible sleep. I was literally averaging about 2 hours of sleep a night during the week and I would spend the weekends trying to sleep. It was through this horrible experience that I came to know CBD oil and finally find some rest. Upon taking CBD my brain fog and anxiety levels had decreased.
Also for the first time that night, I had the BEST SLEEP I have ever had in years. I fell asleep at a decent hour and the amazing part was that for that night I didn’t engage in a fight with my bed sheets tossing and turning all night.
So the first night was a huge triumphant success over my anxiety.
How Well Did CBD Continue to Work For Insomnia
I continued to take CBD twice a day. Once in the morning and once about a half an hour before bed.
I did not sleep quite like the first night. But my sleep overall improved. I have been waking up a couple of times in the night, but I go to sleep right away, find myself having more frequent dreams and my sleep feels more restorative than it has been in years. I can go to sleep at a decent hour now and wake up early naturally. From taking CBD regularly every day, I think that some of the bad sleep patterns that my brain has been used to has been readjusting itself to more normal sleeping patterns.
You definitely want to take CBD frequently to treat insomnia.
Let’s see what the studies have to say about this.
CBD For Insomnia: Studies
There are quite an amount of studies surfacing which show CBD to be an effective sleep aid.
In one study involving 409 people with insomnia, the research concluded that cannabis reduced their insomnia by -4.5 points on a point visual analog scale out of 10.
That is a significant reduction and it proves the effectiveness of cannabidiol as a sleep aid.
There was another study conducted which, proves that CBD does not interfere with the sleep wake cycle. In the study healthy volunteers were either given either a placebo or CBD oil 30 minutes before sleep. They were then monitored during an 8 hour period. The study determined that CBD (cannabidiol) does not interfere with sleep wake cycle. Many sleeping medications interfere with the circadian rhythm and wind up interfering with the thing it is trying to treat (sleep).
CBD Vs. Sleep Drugs
I usually try to stay away from sleep medication, however on really bad nights I have occasionally taken some sleep medications. For me they do help me sleep right away, but I tend do get horrible night terrors, I still wake up a few times in the night.
Plus when I wake up in the morning, I still feel somewhat sedated and not well rested. This brings up another good point about CBD oil, CBD oil has never made me feel sedated, neither has it altered my dreams or cognition. I haven’t had any severe side effects with CBD, besides having a dry mouth the first time I took it (every other time I took CBD I haven’t had this issue).
Webmd compiles a list of side effects of sleeping pills.
Common side effects of prescription sleeping pills such as Lunesta, Sonata, Ambien, Rozerem, and Halcion may include:
Burning or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or legs
Changes in appetite
Dry mouth or throat
Stomach pain or tenderness
Unusual dreams
That seems like a long list. Not too mention sleeping pills tend to develop a dependency on them, while CBD is not an addictive substance.
Personally I would choose CBD oil any day over sleeping pills.
How To Take CBD Oil For Sleep (CBD Oil For Sleep Dosage)
If you only want to treat insomnia, I recommend taking CBD oil 30 minutes before bed. I would suggest starting with a 30ml bottle with about 500mg of CBD. Take about 15 drops under your tongue for 60 minutes, then swallow, then head to bed.
If that doesn’t work you could always count sheep.
Conclusion
CBD oil has a lot of evidence backing it up as an effective insomnia treatment. My experience with CBD oil for sleeplessness has also validated these findings.
If you are tired of losing sleep, give CBD a try, it may be the solution you are looking for. Some tips I have also learned are:
- Going to bed around the same time every night and waking up the same time
- Keep your bedroom cool and dark
- Try a warm calming beverage before sleep like chamomile tea (you could even add some CBD to it)
- Try to reduce stress
I can talk in great lengths about CBD’s effect on sleep, but you are just going to have to try it for yourself.
If you are up late reading this, I hope this has helped you and you could finally get some sleep.
***It goes without saying, while CBD oil is generally safe, with any kind of new supplement, you may want to consult your doctor before taking it.
I’ve been avidly using CBD to deal with my anxiety, and have been fortunate to do so successfully. I started this blog to share my experience and knowledge with as many people as possible.