CBD for sleep: what you should know

CBD has definitely become the hottest three letters in wellness over the past few years. The cannabinoid’s rapid rise to stardom has left a lot of confusion in its wake, though. A lack of federal regulation combined with a motivation to cash in on the latest trend resulted in a lot of sub-par products in the hands of unsatisfied and uninformed consumers. We are here to try to fix that! Being real about the benefits of CBD without overhyping them, being transparent about our sourcing and lab test results, and putting out a product that is designed to be more effective and consistent are just some of the ways we seek to make you more confident as a consumer.

So, let’s get honest about CBD and sleep. Here’s the bottom line: CBD can help with sleep. It can also help you feel more awake and alert. “What?!”. I know, right?! Stay with me here.

The Endocannabinoid System

Otherwise known as The Great Regulator, your endocannabinoid system, plays the critical role of helping you restore and maintain your body’s ideal state of balance. Your ECS regulates major physiological functions like sleep, digestion, fear/anxiety, memory, immune function, and more. It can up or down-regulate functions according to what you need to bring you back to the center.

CBD does not necessarily act directly on the endocannabinoid system, rather it influences the amount of endocannabinoids that are active in our bodies at any given time. Endocannabinoids are cannabinoids produced by our own bodies. They fit like a lock and key into ECS receptors which are located everywhere from your central nervous system to your GI tract to your skin. Once they lock-in, they activate the system so it can bring you back to balance. The only problem is that endocannabinoids degrade quickly and our modern lifestyles make us not-so-great at naturally producing enough of them. Enter CBD!

You’re a snowflake

More accurately, your ECS is like a snowflake: truly unique! The individualized expression of endocannabinoid receptors and their receptivity is what makes nailing down exact cannabinoid dosage recommendations fairly difficult. We have been able to narrow the window of possibilities over the past couple of years as research has advanced and more anecdotal evidence could be collected, but there is still no singular recommendation for sleep, pain, anxiety, etc.

Given the fact that those three need states are the most common reasons people turn to CBD, it can be pretty frustrating for consumers to hear “it depends” when they ask something as seemingly simple as “how much should I take”.

The last thing I want to do is cause more confusion for you, but the first thing I want to do is be honest. The most important thing you should know about CBD is that it might take a bit of experimenting before you find what is right for you. There is a lot of variabilities when it comes to finding your ideal dose – what works for one person might not work for you and vice versa. All of this to say, when it comes to finding what works best for you and your sleep there is no magic dosage so just remember these three things:

1. Be mindful of your dosage and delivery method
2. Check the other ingredients in the product
3. Be open to experimenting

Higher doses = better sleep?

In general, this does seem to be the case. You don’t have to go too crazy at first, though! Studies have shown 25-75mg to be an effective range for improving sleep and anxiety.

Sometimes the way in which you consume CBD is just as important as how much CBD you’re consuming. For example, edibles or capsules/soft gels have a lower rate of bioavailability which means they take longer to kick in and not as much CBD actually makes it into your bloodstream. Tinctures provide a higher rate of bioavailability (about 10-20% higher than edibles) if you properly hold the oil under your tongue for 30-60 seconds (the longer the better). Inhalable products like vapes or flower/pre-rolls have the highest rate of bioavailability – about 20% higher than tinctures – and the fastest onset.

Understanding how much CBD you’re actually absorbing through each delivery method is important because it can help you understand how to account for that variability in practice. If you know that a 25mg tincture hits the spot and gets the job done, don’t be discouraged if a 25mg gummy doesn’t hit the same way.

The Others

Here’s where I shamelessly plug TONIC and the value of the other ingredients found in our flagship products. TONIC cuts down the inherent variability of CBD by mindfully incorporating synergistic plant-based ingredients. What do we mean by synergistic? We mean that when those ingredients are combined with CBD, they are able to enhance the action of each individual ingredient. We follow the logic that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Ashwagandha and CBD are each great on their own, but when you combine them they are able to more effectively accomplish their super-balancing, stress-relieving, mood-regulating goals! That was the discovery I made when creating my own home remedies for my depression and anxiety, and that’s how TONIC was born. That original combination of CBD and ashwagandha became our O.G. TONIC (the ORIGINAL… get it? 😉).

Now, getting back to how this all relates to sleep, let’s look at Chill TONIC. Chill has that same great CBD and ashwagandha combination as The O.G., but with some important additions:

1. Chill has a slightly higher CBD concentration than The O.G.
2. In addition to CBD and ashwagandha, Chill features lemon balm and passionflower. Lemon balm and passionflower are super calming herbs. Clinical research has proven them to be effective natural solutions to anxiety and insomnia.

By adding those calming ingredients and upping the CBD dosage, we are able to target the effects of Chill more exactly towards calming, relaxation, and sleep support.

You should always be mindful of what else is in your CBD products because sometimes it can work against you getting the results that you’re seeking. For example, certain products can contain ingredients that provide a more uplifting, daytime-friendly effect. If your CBD capsule contains Vitamin B12 and green tea extract, then that probably won’t help you sleep.

Be Open to Experimenting

Another important thing to note is that besides [indirectly] interacting with your Endocannabinoid System, CBD influences sleep in other ways. That is the beautiful thing about CBD – it interacts with over 65 molecular targets in our bodies! CBD influences both GABA and serotonin neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers that basically run the show in our minds and bodies. GABA and Serotonin are both key in signaling our body to slow down, rest, digest, and be happy. GABA in particular has a really big influence on sleep.

The experimenting comes into play when figuring out how much CBD it takes for you to elicit enough of a change in GABA and Serotonin. Things like your gut health will actually make a big difference because these neurotransmitters, especially serotonin, are largely produced in your gut. Other lifestyle factors can definitely come into play. Screentime, for example, can influence how your body cycles through Serotonin and GABA because the blue light triggers your brain into more of an “excitatory” mode rather than a relaxing one.

Time for another shameless Chill plug!! Lemon balm and passionflower are such effective herbs for rest and relaxation because they influence GABA in the same way CBD does but in a more targeted fashion. The addition of lemon balm and passionflower force CBD’s potential GABA activation to be more present, consistent, and effective.

Sweet Dreams!

There is science that validates the effectiveness of CBD for sleep, but the devil is always in the details. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t swiftly drifting off into dreamland after your first dose. Be patient; pay attention to how much you’re taking and what you’re taking it with; be aware of what else is going on in your internal and external environments when you are taking it; be open to making some adjustments until you find what works for you.

Poor sleep is usually a byproduct of something else. Usually that something else is pain or anxiety. CBD’s ability to address both of those issues also plays a big role in its ability to provide you with a better night’s sleep.