CBD Oil for Sleep & Insomnia

Austin Beals April 8, 2019

* DISCLAIMER: The information in this article is for educational purposes only. It does not exploit or provide medical advice of any kind. Therefore, any reliance you place on the information below is strictly at your own risk. Please check with your medical provider before starting or changing a CBD routine.

The effects of CBD offer a plethora of medical and wellness benefits. More people are turning to CBD products for its healing properties as an alternative to conventional medicine, such as NSAID's and opioids, or at least as a means of supplementing their current treatment protocol.

Studies have already backed CBD's ability to treat seizures, alleviate chronic pain, reduce anxiety, reduce inflammation and improve heart health. Now researchers have been able to link CBD to improving sleep deprivation as well.

Risks of Lack of Proper Sleep

About 60% of Americans have trouble falling asleep and staying in a deep sleep throughout the night. Of course, lack of proper sleep can leave a person feeling lethargic, groggy, and mentally incapacitated the next day. But there are a number of other risks associated with lack of sleep that may surprise you.

Increased risk of accidents. If you don't get a good night's sleep the night before, you could be at a higher risk of being involved in an accident. Studies show that lack of proper sleep is associated with higher accident rates in the workplace, as well as a higher number of sick days reported. It's also directly linked to more car crashes on the road. In fact, fatigue is a factor in approximately 100,000 car crashes per year in the U.S. and can be as dangerous as operating equipment while under the influence.

Decreased cognitive abilities. Sleep plays an important role a person's ability to think, learn, and remember things. Without adequate sleep, it is much more difficult to stay alert, pay attention, concentrate, and solve complex problems. And since sleep cycles are responsible for helping to store memories, a lack of sleep will make it harder for a person to remember things learned the day before.

Increased risk of serious health issues. A lack of sleep can leave you feeling a lot more than just tired and unable to focus. It can also be a factor in the development of a variety of serious medical health disorders, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, and irregular heartbeat. In fact, as many as 90% of people diagnosed with insomnia are more likely to also be suffering from other medical conditions.

Increased risk of depression. The longer sleep problems linger, the higher the chances of depression setting in. According to studies, people who have been diagnosed with depression are more likely to be found to sleep less than six hours every night, which is less than the nearly eight hours recommended. Insomnia, in particular, is the most strongly associated with depression and vice versa.

In fact, people who suffer from insomnia are five times more likely to have depression compared to those without this sleep disorder. Moreover, insomnia and depression are intertwined, as a lack of sleep typically exacerbates symptoms of depression, while depression makes it harder to fall asleep and can increase feeling of stress and anxiety.

Clearly, a lack of adequate sleep can have serious impacts on the mind and body, which is why many people choose to take medication to help them get the restful sleep they need. However, CBD has shown promise as a natural alternative to a pharmaceutical sleep aid without side effects and addictive properties.

How Does CBD Improve Sleep?

CBD is known to help improve sleep by interacting with the body's endocannabinoid system, which is responsible for maintaining balance of several important bodily functions, including sleep regulation. The endocannabinoid system, which is a network of receptors throughout the body, is activated by the cannabinoids that are naturally found in a cannabis plant, where CBD is derived from.

Studies have shown that the effects of CBD interacting with receptors of the endocannabinoid system positively affect sleep.

Further, the benefits of CBD oil is linked to helping ease insomnia and promoting sleep quality that includes the following:

Stimulates a relaxed state
Reduces anxiety
Reduces pain that may hinder proper sleep

Further, several sleep studies have found that CBD hemp oil may be effective for achieving deep REM sleep.

Unlike THC, which is the cannabinoid found in cannabis plants that gets people "high," CBD does not have any psychoactive effects. As such, the ability for CBD to induce better sleep patterns is not because of its effect on the mind. Instead, this non-psychoactive cannabinoid offers plenty of therapeutic advantages of marijuana without the mind-altering side effects. This is why CBD is so popular with those who seek some form of natural remedy for their sleep - as well as many other ailments - without the high that recreational marijuana users seek.

And because CBD oil has just about zero negative side effects, it makes a promising addition to the medical field as an effective sleep remedy.

With more widespread acceptance of CBD comes an increase in the number of studies that continue to be done on it. And with each study conducted, more and more evidence continues to mount on the positive effects that the cannabidiol can have in relation to a wide range of health issues, including sleep disorders.

If you're suffering from a lack of quality sleep that's affecting other areas of your life, adding natural CBD oil to your daily regimen could help you finally acquire the need sleep time you've desperately been longing for without the need for synthetic pharmaceuticals, which can actually impact your sleeping patterns negatively over time.

Kai Pattison, M.S.

Nanocraft Sciences

Athlete Relations x Physiologist

Kai Pattison was born and raised on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Kai graduated with a Master’s degree in clinical physiology from Point Loma Nazarene University. He is very passionate about human physiology and the applications in sport performance, recovery and clinical diagnostics. Kai has specialized in cardiopulmonary diagnostics, exercise induced energy expenditure and metabolism. Kai has also gained extensive research experience at UCSD on Parkinson’s disease. He enjoys educating and informing people on the importance of exercise to reduce risk of multiple inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. His passion for alternative medicine enables him to strive when promoting health and wellness.

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