It’s 2 a.m., and you’re wide awake.
Whether you had a late night, have too much on your mind, or suffer from bouts of insomnia, lying wide awake in the wee hours of the morning is an awful feeling.
Getting a good night’s rest is essential to your well-being, and it’s recommended adults get seven or more hours of good-quality sleep on a regular schedule every night.
The benefits of good sleep include:
- A boosted immune system: People who get a proper amount of sleep become ill less frequently.
- Maintaining a healthy weight: When you get less sleep, your body’s resting metabolic rate (RMR) decreases. RMR is the number of calories your body can burn when sleeping; when sleep cycles are interrupted, that rate goes down.
- The risk for serious health problems, including diabetes and heart disease, decreases.
- Stress levels are reduced, and mood is boosted.
- Mental clarity improves.
Getting a good night’s sleep makes you function at your optimum level, allowing you to tackle life at your highest potential.
But unfortunately, getting a good night’s sleep doesn’t come easily to some of us; according to the CDC, around 70 million or one-third of Americans suffer from chronic sleep problems.
So what can be done?
Creating and sticking to a nightly routine has been shown to help create healthy sleep habits.
For example, some people do a yoga flow, journal about their day, take a relaxing bath, or brew a cup of tea at a set time every night, performing the actions to signal to their brain that it’s time to wind down for the night.
If you don’t have a nightly routine and you’re struggling to get a good night’s rest, we recommend you create one!
But if you’re just starting to formulate your bedtime rituals (or are looking to improve your nightly routine), incorporating CBD edibles into your relaxation lineup could be that missing piece you’ve been looking for.
For many people, adding a CBD edible to their routine made them go from dealing with the effects of sleep deprivation to enjoying the benefits of consistently getting a good night’s rest.
What is Cannabidiol (CBD), and is it legal?
If you’re conjuring images in your head of that distinct green, thin-leafed plant, you’re not necessarily wrong.
The scientific name is Cannabis sativa, and the word “cannabis” encompasses all products made from the plant.
There are over 540 phytochemicals found in C. sativa, the two most well-known being THC and CBD.
The former is commonly known as “marijuana,” and its psychoactive effects are what people refer to when they “get high” from its consumption.
But not all cannabis plants have high levels of THC, and those that contain less than 0.3% are classified as “hemp.”
Hemp was taken off the controlled substance list in the US in 2018, and since then, the CBD industry has boomed – and so have studies proving its effectiveness. Unlike T
HC, CBD doesn’t illicit psychoactive properties, meaning it won’t alter your mental state.
It also doesn’t have properties linked to a risk of abuse or dependency, which other medicines used for sleep have been shown to cause.
CBD and sleep are a match made in biology.
Humans have a system running throughout our bodies called the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
Discovered in the 1990s, research has shown the system affects appetite and digestion, chronic pain, sleep, mood, learning and memory, and so much more.
Cannabis – THC and CBD directly interact with the ECS by binding to the body’s receptors, like endocannabinoids (THC) or preventing endocannabinoids from breaking down (CBD).
Extensive studies have also shown the effects CBD has on the nervous system, creating a calming effect on the body.
The stress hormone cortisol kept our ancestors safe from predators, eliciting the body’s fight, flight or freeze response.
Today, cortisol helps keep us alert in stressful situations like avoiding a car accident or running across the lawn to stop your dog from escaping through an opened gate.
But it also plays a role in our sleep functions, and for someone with a healthy sleep routine, their levels of cortisol peak in the morning, ensuring they’re ready to wake up and greet the day.
But for those who struggle with insomnia, cortisol spikes at night, and for those who wake up consistently throughout the night, the odds are high cortisol levels are the culprit.
CBD has been proven to significantly decrease cortisol levels, mimicking the effects of a sedative.
Additionally, CBD has been proven to help alleviate anxiety and pain, which significantly interfere with a good night’s sleep.
When these major symptoms, one an infliction of the mind and another an ailment of the body, begin to be relieved, sleep improves.
The takeaway: Limited side effects and improved sleep.
More and more research is being conducted to prove the benefits of CBD as it relates to various health conditions, especially sleep disorders.
The majority of evidence points to the conclusion that CBD is well-received, offering limited side effects and many positive results.