If you’re tossing in bed from one position to another — belly, right side, left side, on the back — you’re probably one of 70 million Americans affected by sleep disorders.
And if those troubles falling asleep become chronic, this means that insomnia might be knocking to your door.
Chances are that you’ve already tried several remedies — most likely without success if you’re reading this.
CBD is gaining recognition as a highly versatile tool for alleviating a vast range of symptoms, from anxiety to pain, inflammation, and seizures.
Research, as well as anecdotal evidence from patients, suggests that CBD may be an effective sleep-promoting agent. There are many ways in which CBD acts on sleep regulation — in this article, we’ll elaborate on each of them.
We’ll also give you the answer to the title question: can CBD gummies cure insomnia?
Let’s get down into this!
What is Insomnia?
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that occurs when a person has difficulties falling and/or staying asleep.
People with insomnia experience one or more of the following symptoms:
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Waking up too early in the morning
- Feeling tired upon waking
- Waking up several times at night and having trouble going back to sleep
Insomnia can be both chronic and acute. Acute insomnia can last from one night to a few weeks, whereas chronic insomnia is a long-term condition.
In order to be diagnosed with insomnia, an individual would have to experience it a least three nights a week for at three months.
There are two types of insomnia:
- Primary insomnia: primary insomnia means that there are no other conditions or problems directly associated with a person’s sleeping difficulties. In this case, insomnia is a condition per se.
- Secondary insomnia: this type of insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems but from something else, such as an illness, pain, medication they’re taking, or a substance they’re using (like drugs or alcohol).
Long-term Side Effects of Insomnia
Chronic sleep deprivation may take a serious toll on your health. It compromises your cognitive functioning and poses a real threat to your physical health. Researchers have linked insomnia to a plethora of health problems, from hypertension to obesity, depression, and heart disease.
Here are some of the most common side effects of insomnia:
- Lack of alertness
- Mood swings
- Memory impairment
- Fatigue
- Poor balance
- Reduced libido
- Hypertension
- Weight gain
- Weakened immune system
- Risk of diabetes
- Risk of heart disease
- What Are CBD Gummies?
At first thought, you may give us a doubtful smile for linking gummies with any symptom relief, let alone insomnia.
But, these aren’t just any gummies. They are infused with CBD, and many of these gummies are quite potent, sometimes packing as much as 30mg of CBD per piece.
CBD gummies come in different sizes, shapes, and flavors. They’re made either of full-spectrum CBD extracts or CBD isolate.
Gummies sourced from full-spectrum CBD will have a slightly herbal taste because of the naturally occurring phytochemicals from hemp. Isolate-based gummies, on the other hand, taste much like your favorite gummies from childhood — sweet, sometimes sour, and packed with fruity flavors.
Each gummy has a fixed dose of CBD, meaning there’s no need to measure out the amount of cannabidiol each time you need to take it. You can take them everywhere on the go, store it at your desk at work, or in your backpack.
How Can CBD Gummies Relieve Symptoms of Insomnia
Since the main ingredient in CBD gummies is cannabidiol, this product can produce similar effects to CBD oil.
The only difference is the route of administration. CBD oil is used sublingually, while CBD gummies need to pass through your digestive system in order to take effect — hence the delayed onset.
When used for sleep, CBD gummies may reduce anxiety and stress, helping you fall asleep without racing thoughts.
Research suggests that CBD improves sleep patterns in insomniacs.
For one, it boosts your alertness during the day when taken in low doses. Daytime alertness levels play an important role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle.
Higher doses, on the other hand, promote sedation, making users a little bit drowsy.
On top of that, CBD increases the duration of the deep sleep stage, when people rest and regenerate from the whole day. At the same time, it reduces the amount of time we spend in the REM phase, the one in which we dream. People who dreamless achieve a better quality of sleep.
How to Dose CBD Gummies for Better Sleep
There’s no precise answer to finding the right dosage of CBD gummies for sleep. Everybody has different needs and different doses produce different effects when it comes to how you feel.
If you’re new to CBD, start with lower doses and monitor the effects. Try to gauge a dose that will promote sedation before bedtime, while using slightly less CBD in the morning to boost your daytime alertness. It’s estimated that a good starting point is 1 to 6mg of CBD per 10 pounds of body weight.
What to Look For When Buying CBD Gummies for Insomnia
No two CBD oils are made the same. The abundance of different companies trying to make their name in the emerging market is overwhelming. Not every manufacturer can live up to the industry’s standards, though.
That being said, it’s important that you only buy CBD products from trusted brands. Here’s what to look for when buying CBD gummies for insomnia:
1. Hemp Source
Hemp is a bioacummulator, meaning it draws everything from the soil it grows in. It’s important that the hemp used for making your CBD gummies comes from locally-grown organic plants, preferably from US, Canada, or Western Europe.
2. Extraction Method
The best extraction method for making CBD oil is CO2 extraction. Pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) works as a solvent that strips all compounds from the plant material, leaving behind a clean and potent extract upon evaporation.
3. CBD Potency
Low-potency CBD oil is better for a general health boost or managing mild symptoms. If you have high CBD needs, then you might want to consider buying a stronger option. The key is to determine what dose of CBD is effective for you and then adjust the oil’s potency to your regimen in order to make it cost-effective.
4. Cannabinoid Spectrum
Full-spectrum extracts are believed to be more effective than CBD isolates because they contain all compounds from the plant material. These compounds work synergistically to produce the so-called entourage effect — a concept in which the cannabinoids in hemp extracts are more effective together than each of them in isolation.
5. Third-Party Testing
Companies have the option to submit each batch of their products to a third-party laboratory for content analysis. These laboratories verify the potency of CBD, scan the entire cannabinoid profile, and look for potential contaminants. If a company cares about the safety of their customers, they make the lab reports from these tests available on its website.
Do you use CBD gummies for sleep? Can you feel the difference in your sleep quality? Let us know in the comment section below!