Can You Use CBD For Sleep?

Getting a good night’s sleep is more important than you might think. Poor sleep can affect every aspect of your life from your moods to your ability to concentrate. If you have trouble sleeping, you might be considering CBD for sleep. Before you rush to get this, you need to consider whether you can use CBD for sleep problems.

The Research

Over the years, there has been a lot of research into the benefits of CBD. However, there are actually very few studies that look only at the use of CBD for sleep. Much of the information relating to the effects of CBD on sleep patterns is anecdotal.

A survey done by Consumer Reports has found that around 10% of the respondents are using CBD as a sleep aid. These respondents have stated that CBD is able to help them sleep better. However, without any clinical studies to back this anecdotal evidence, there is no way to be sure about the long-term effectiveness.

How CBD Could Help

While there are no clear clinical results, CBD could help with sleep due to the myrcene found in certain strains. This is a terpene which has been found to have a sedative effect. Of course, it is important to note that this is only one of the compounds found in CBD.

In terms of human studies, there is little work being done on the sedative effects of myrcene. However, some animal studies have found that the terpene does produce a sedative effect which could be helpful with sleep disorders. There are also many herbalists who have used hops as a sleep aid because of the high myrcene content.

The primary problem you could face is finding myrcene rich CBD. Most people will use CBD concentrates that have very low levels of this terpene which reduces the sedative effect of the CBD. You would need to vaporize or smoke myrcene-rich CBD flowers to get the full effect.

Using Multiple Cannabinoids

While there are few studies that have looked at CBD on its own as a sleep aid, there are some that have looked at the use of multiple cannabinoids. The research has focused primarily on using CBD along with THC. One study from 2017 found that the combination of CBD and THC can help with sleep.

However, you would need to be careful when using a combination of cannabinoids for sleep. THC will not put you to sleep like other sleep aids, but will make you feel comfortable while remaining still. CBD does not alter the consciousness in the same way, but does reduce anxiety which can help you relax. This relaxation can help your natural sleep mechanisms to take over which results in better sleep.

With the hype around CBD continuing, you might consider using this as a sleep aid. There are no human clinical studies that show isolated CBD will help with sleep, but animal studies on myrcene have shown promise. There have also been promising results from studies looking into the use of CBD and THC to get better sleep.