10/18/2022
Problems with falling asleep and staying asleep affect seven out of ten people today. Considering how vital sleep is to optimal daily functioning and health, it’s no wonder more and more people are turning to sleep aid supplements such as cannabidiol (CBD) oil. In fact, the Sleep Foundation points to CBD in particular as a growing trend among people trying to achieve deeper and more restful sleep.
However, for someone who may have never used CBD oil before, the idea of starting a new supplement can be intimidating. How do you know which CBD supplement to choose, how much to take, or even when to take CBD for optimal sleep?
That’s why we’ve put together this brief guide to help you get started. While CBD can’t solve major medical issues such as sleep apnea that may be keeping you from getting restful sleep, it can absolutely put your mind and body at ease and let you slip into a deep, restful slumber with less resistance. And understanding how to use CBD oil for sleep can help you avoid a few common pitfalls and get the most out of your CBD supplement the very first night you take it.
Why And How To Use CBD For A Good Night’s Sleep
Why might you want to try taking CBD before bed?
CBD oil is commonly used to treat pain, anxiety, and stress. It may also help to improve your mood and quiet those nagging thoughts that keep you awake at night.
For these reasons, many people turn to CBD oil as a bedtime ritual that makes falling asleep a soothing prospect rather than a stressful event. After all, falling asleep and staying asleep are much easier when your physical pains and emotional worries melt away.
CBD is a great choice for anyone suffering from nighttime restlessness, anxiety, mild pain, or run-of-the-mill insomnia. But if you’re looking for a product that will provide a “high” along with pain relief and relaxation, pure CBD oil is not what you’re looking for. While CBD interacts with the cannabinoid receptors in your body, it does not bind to them like THC does. It’s this binding to the receptors that produces the famous THC side effects, so CBD will not induce a high or interfere with clear thinking.
When is the best time to take CBD for an optimal night’s rest?
If you’ve never used CBD before, you might be wary of taking it at the wrong time. You don’t want to take it too early and risk the sleep-aid effect wearing off before your head even hits the pillow. But you also don’t want to take it too late and spend the next couple of hours lying in bed wishing you’d used your dose earlier. It seems like internet searches are rife with people asking when to take CBD oil for sleep, implying there are many people out there worrying about the same thing.
Thankfully, the answer is pretty simple:
If you plan to take your CBD sublingually, by placing it under your tongue, you can take it about five to ten minutes before going to bed. For most people, it’s the last thing they do at night before slipping under the covers. That’s because the CBD and CBN components in the sleep supplement will cross the mucous membrane under your tongue and get absorbed into your bloodstream very quickly.
The only exception to this rule is if you take your CBD oil orally instead of sublingually. If you swallow the CBD, it will have to travel through your digestive system and get processed by your liver before being absorbed.
In this case, you’ll want to allow at least a half an hour between the time you take your supplement and the time you’d like for it to kick in. It may take longer than half an hour to hit your bloodstream if you ingest the CBD oil with a larger quantity of food, which will slow digestion and absorption.
What dosage should you start with?
If you plan to take CBD at night for the first time, you may worry about taking too much. You probably want to be able to monitor how it makes you feel, if you can easily wake up to your alarm in the morning, and if you can stay clear-headed enough to check on your children if they call out in the night.
While CBD is unlikely to disrupt any of those things, we do recommend starting with a small dose and working your way up once you see how it affects your system. Everyone has different sensitivities to substances, and it’s usually advisable to start at the low end whenever you try something new.
In general, we recommend women try 25 milligrams, while men can start with 50 milligrams. You can always gradually increase your dosage if you’d like the effects to be stronger.
The good news is that you’re unlikely to ever hit a wall where increasing your dosage is going to be harmful. As long as your sleep supplement only contains CBD or other pure compounds from the cannabis plant, there’s no maximum threshold beyond which a dose could be toxic.
If you’re using the Sleep Blend CBD supplement from Butler Hemp Co., you can safely increase your dosage as needed. If you’ve purchased your supplement from anywhere else, we can’t speak to its dosage and safety because we don’t know which additives may be included in the supplement. Therefore, always check the label before you step up your intake.
Is it safe to take CBD every night?
The answer to this question varies, but not for the reasons you may think. CBD by itself does not pose a risk of harmful side effects or addiction, so if you’ve chosen a pure CBD oil, you should be in the clear.
Many supplement companies, however, mix CBD with other ingredients to boost the sleep-aiding effects and add other benefits. CBD and melatonin is a popular mix, for example, but melatonin is only recommended for short-term use to avoid dependence and can result in morning grogginess if overused. You wouldn’t want to rely on that blend every night.
It’s always a good idea to research the components of your supplements individually to make sure you’re using them all safely.
For great sleep with zero chance of becoming dependent, try Butler Hemp Co.’s Sleep Blend Full Spectrum Oil.
The reason many people turn to blends instead of sticking with pure CBD is simply because blends tend to be more effective at evoking deep, restful sleep. However, as we mentioned, it’s important to understand exactly what’s in the blend you choose.
Our Sleep Blend Full Spectrum Oil includes cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), and cannabigerol (CBG) for the best of all worlds. CBD provides pain relief and anxiety reduction, CBG amplifies those effects and soothes the digestive system, and CBN functions as a powerful relaxant. In combination, they have been shown to help the body regulate its natural circadian rhythms and ease stress responses.
Producing a soothing sense of relaxation and stress relief — without any “high” feelings, fuzzy thinking, or risk of dependence — the Sleep Blend will help you fall asleep and stay asleep all night long.
