Taking CBD for sleep can be as simple as popping a chewable gummy around an hour before bed. CBD has been proven to help calm stress and decrease anxiety – two of the most common issues people have with difficulty falling asleep.
When you’re calm and stress-free, you can relax into your bed knowing there’s nothing to worry about, and drift off to sleep more easily. No wonder taking CBD gummies for sleep has become part of many people’s normal evening routine!
How does CBD for sleep work, and what other benefits could you possibly gain from taking CBD gummies? Although research on CBD is still in its early stages, the benefits of this compound are well documented and the science is sound.
CBD Basics
For many years people have mainly associated the Cannabis sativa plant with marijuana due to its THC content. But the plant has many other natural compounds of interest. THC and CBD are both a type of natural compoun called cannabinoids. And while THC is known for its psychoactive effects, CBD doesn’t alter one’s perception of reality and has many beneficial effects.
In fact, CBD is the most prolific cannabinoid and has more in common with other compounds found in the Cannabis sativa plant, such as terpenes, than it does with THC. CBD is extracted from a version of the Cannabis sativa plant called hemp that contains less than .3% THC by law.
So what makes cannabinoids so special and how can they modulate your body’s behaviors?
Introducing the Endocannabinoid System
The human body has what is known as an endocannabinoid system, or ECS. It spans throughout the body, aligned closely with the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system.
Your body produces endocannabinoids on demand to help regulate normal daily functions like sleep cycles, mood, and signaling between the nerves and the brain, such as pain sensations. There are hundreds of receptors that give them access to your nervous system
As it turns out, plant-based cannabinoids (phytocannabinoids, like CBD and THC) are extremely similar to endocannabinoids. THC can bind directly to receptors, causing a psychoactive effect, but the other cannabinoids simply boost your body’s natural production of endocannabinoids and make them last longer, increasing their positive effects on your body.
If you’re having trouble with sleeping, taking CBD may help because it strengthens and supports the body’s normal ECS function. Since so many other factors in one’s health and lifestyle affect sleep, let’s look at how CBD works holistically to help address an out-of-balance system.
Calming Effects of CBD
Do you have trouble sleeping because of anxiety? It’s been shown that CBD may help reduce or relieve anxiety when taken regularly in small doses.
CBD has been the subject of multiple studies both for generalized anxiety disorder and specific types of anxiety, from fear of public speaking or flying to social anxiety or anxiety as a symptom of another mental health condition.
One landmark study showed that 80% of people taking CBD during the study said that their anxiety seemed to decrease in reaction to the CBD use. Most people who take CBD for anxiety self-report positive results.
The reason behind why CBD helps provides a calming effect for people with anxiety is still being researched. So far, many scientists are concluding that CBD has a positive calming effect because it’s able to impact serotonin levels. Low serotonin is linked to depression and anxiety, so if CBD can positively affect serotonin levels, that could be responsible for its anti-anxiety and calming effects.
If anxiety is what keeps you from falling asleep – because your brain keeps spinning with anxious and unwanted thoughts – it could help to try CBD without the worries that come with using some sleep medications.
Of course, if you have a diagnosed anxiety disorder or any other sort of health condition, you should always talk to your doctor first before trying an new supplement, including CBD. Do not stop taking a prescribed medication without prior medical consultation.
If you are taking prescription meds, you should also talk to your doctor before adding CBD to your regimen as a supplement. This is particularly important because CBD acts kind of like grapefruit in the way it interacts with certain types of prescription meds. If your medications have a warning label saying not to ingest grapefruit, you should avoid CBD and discuss it with your medical professional.
Pain-Relieving Effects of CBD
Another way CBD might be able to help you get to sleep is if you can’t fall asleep because you are hurting. Many people find that CBD helps alleviates or lessens uncomfortable pain levels, which can in turn allow them to fall asleep more easily and not be awakened by pain in the night.
CBD has been used by some people in response to a range of pain symptoms, from muscle pain to nerve pain. It’s thought the reason CBD is so effective in this regard is due to its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.
Whether you are sore from physical exertion or suffer from health conditions that cause chronic pain, CBD gummies may help you to relax into the comfort of sleep.
Again, CBD should not be treated like a cure-all and is not a replacement for a doctor-approved treatment plan. So, if you are interested, first talk to your pain management team about the possibility of adding CBD into your regimen.
Fortunately, unlike many over-the-counter pain relievers, CBD doesn’t cause as much stress to the digestive system. Also, unlike opioids, CBD isn’t addictive and you can’t overdose on CBD. This can make the benefits of CBD worth exploring if you’re in pain at night and can’t sleep because of it.
Using CBD Regularly as a Sleep Aid
It’s completely possible that your inability to fall asleep and stay asleep isn’t connected to anxiety or pain, but is just a product of problematic sleep habits or insomnia without a clear cause. In that case, CBD could help you achieve a healthy night’s sleep.
Since we’re still in the early research phase with CBD, its official effects on sleep disorders is still preliminary. Even anecdotal evidence can be a little muddled, since a lot of people who take CBD to get better sleep also take it for other reasons.
It’s looking likely that taking CBD for sleep may require a higher dose of CBD than you might use for other purposes. It’s also seeming that adding a natural sleep aid like melatonin can help boost the sleep benefits of CBD, making it work better.
That said, no matter why you are taking CBD, better sleep is often a happy side effect. Even people who didn’t realize they weren’t sleeping well have reported they feel better rested after taking CBD for another reason.
For example, taking CBD for anxiety also resulted in better sleep in 65% of participants in one study, which was viewed as a bonus effect since the study hadn’t been targeting sleep habits at all.
Likewise, studies involving pain patients have returned similar results, with better sleep listed among the positives reported by patients at the end of the studies. Obviously, whatever is causing your sleeplessness, CBD may help whether directly or as an indirect result of addressing another problem.
If you have a specific sleep disorder causing insomnia or a daytime issue such as Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Disorder (EDSD) resulting as an after-effect, you might want to try CBD or CBD with melatonin purely as a sleep regulator.
CBD has also been shown to be helpful for patients with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease who experience rapid eye movement (REM) sleep related to Sleep Behavior Disorder (SBD). People with SPD often vocalize loudly and make aggressive body movements during REM sleep.
One study of such patients showed that CBD dropped such symptomatic episodes from 2-7 per week down to 0-1 times per week, indicating the CBD helps calm restless sleep behaviors and – as a result – help provide better rest for patients with neurological conditions that cause poor sleep.
One of the big advantages of CBD over sleeping pills is that it wears off faster and doesn’t leave you feeling groggy the next day. Taking CBD at bedtime shouldn’t cause any impairment or make you unsafe to drive or work the next day.
You can also have a clear head the morning after taking CBD for sleep, leaving you able to focus on work or studying or anything else you need to do. You can even continue to take CBD during the day to help alleviate any anxiety, pain, or other issues.
CBD Gummies for Sleep
Taking CBD gummies for sleep is easy when you ingest it in the form of a gummy. Plus, you know how much CBD is in each gummy because they manufactured to have a set amount, which is verified by third-party testing.
In our opinion, the best kind of CBD gummy has full spectrum CBD. Unlike CBD isolate (which only had CBD purified into an extract) or broad-spectrum CBD (which has CBD and a few other compounds from the hemp plant) full-spectrum CBD has all beneficial compounds from the plant included. In addition to CBD, this includes other cannabinoids and terpenes, the latter of which increases the efficacy of cannabinoids.
It’s critical to know where your CBD product is coming from and that it is made from legal hemp and tested to ensure its potency is exactly what it says on the packaging – specifically, that the amount of CBD is correct and that the amount of THC is under the .3% limit.
Yummy CBD products are all sourced from USA grown industrial hemp for a reliable, safe full-spectrum CBD extract. Every batch is tested by an independent third-party lab to verify potency, and you can view the report through a code printed on the packaging.
We have both CBD oil tinctures and CBD gummies. Many people prefer the CBD gummies because the oil has to be measured out using a dropper and put under the tongue to dissolve. In contrast, gummies can be popped singly or several at a time for a precise dose, and come in a variety of delicious fruit flavors.
The main thing to remember is that gummies do work a little more slowly than oil, since they go through your digestive system and won’t hit your bloodstream for about an hour. Timing your dose for about an hour before you’re ready to go to bed can help you get into a solid evening routine.
Taking your CBD and going to bed at the same time each day can also help establish beneficial sleep habits and can help your body become more accustomed to falling asleep and then waking up refreshed. Once you used CBD for about 30 days, you will likely notice that overall you feel more rested and have fewer restless nights.
Our Yummy CBD gummies come in a 30-count bag, and each gummy has 24 mg of CBD. Choose between Fruity Delight Original Gummies, or our special Fruitful Dreams Sleep Gummies, which also contain 1mg of the natural sleep aid Melatonin per gummy.
Some people find it helpful to keep a sleep journal during theri first month of taking CBD gummies for sleep. You can write down things about your day, including stress, anxiety, or pain levels, meals, exercise, and what time you woke up in the morning. And also note the time you take your CBD, how much you take, and what time you go to bed. The next morning, note how well you slept. You should be able to start spotting patterns that will let you know how well the CBD is working for you and give you insights on what other adjustments you could make that would be helpful. You may even find that you’re experiencing other benefits, like reduced pain or anxiety, or a more stable mood.
Want more information about the use of CBD gummies for sleep? Review our helpful CBD Buyer’s Guide, then head over to our SHOP page to check out our full-spectrum Yummy CBD products.
Q&A about CBD and how it can help with your sleep:
Why CBD for sleep?
CBD can help you overcome sleep issues by addressing the root cause of your inability to get to sleep or stay asleep. Research shows that CBD can help manage the following symptoms that cause poor sleep:
Anxiety
Being anxious can make your brain keep churning long after time to fall asleep. Intrusive thoughts and worries make falling asleep seem impossible, and even once you do nod off, you may find those worries manifesting in dreams. When you wake up you, might feel that you didn’t rest at all. CBD can help calm anxiety and may help you relax before bed, so falling into a peaceful sleep is easier.
Pain
If you’re hurting at night, sleep can also seem elusive. This is because your brain keeps getting constant signals from nerves saying something is wrong. If discomfort is keeping you from your rest, CBD might be able to help by acting to dampen signals from nerves to the brain and lowering your perception of discomfort levels. This can help you stop focusing on those unwelcome feelings so you can sleep.
Stress
Stress during the day can spill over into the night. If your stress causes muscle tension, tooth clenching or grinding, racing thoughts, or being startled awake in the night, CBD may be of great help. Studies show CBD works on stress by inducing relaxation and helping you to fall asleep naturally, then stay asleep without being jolted awake by your worries.
Insomnia
Sometimes a sleep issue is a problem with your circadian rhythm being out of sync. CBD has properties that can help you unwind naturally as bedtime approaches, so you can fall asleep easily and stay asleep without waking multiple times in a night.
Why do Yummy CBD sleep gummies contain Melatonin?
Melatonin is a natural sleep aid produced by the human body. When levels of melatonin are low, it can be hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, and hard to get back to sleep after awakening in the night. CBD can help with many different sleep issues, and seems to work even better when combined with melatonin. CBD and melatonin are believed to work synergistically to improve sleep quality and help you awaken refreshed and ready to face the new day.
How much mg of melatonin is in CBD sleep gummies?
Each CBD gummy contains just 1 mg of melatonin. This is an effective dose for many people, although others may find that they need more melatonin. You might find that you need more CBD as well, in which case you may want to increase your nighttime gummy dose to 2 or even 3 gummies. If the CBD amount in one gummy seems right, but you do better with extra melatonin, you can easily get melatonin over the counter and increase that dose as needed.
How to take CBD gummies for sleep?
CBD from gummies takes a little longer to get into your system than CBD from an oil taken sublingually. That’s because the gummy is ingested and goes through the first stage of metabolism before entering the bloodstream. It can help to chew the CBD gummy as thoroughly as possible to release as much into your saliva as possible so it has a chance to seep into the soft tissues of the mouth. Once the CBD gummy is fully chewed, simply swallow and then find a peaceful, quiet activity to do while you wait for it to kick in.
When to take CBD gummies for sleep?
You should typically try to take your CBD gummy at least one hour before you plan to go to bed. Try to stick to activities that don’t stimulate you once you’ve taken your gummy dose. This means choosing a book over the television or a tablet or phone screen. The light emitted from screened devices can make your brain react in such a way as to prevent sleep from coming easily. Also avoid eating snacks right before bed, and don’t drink caffeinated drinks like coffee, tea, or soda for a few hours before bedtime. If you can, go to sleep at the same time every night, and start your “shut-down routine” at least an hour before your bedtime every night. This can help your brain and body learn to relax and slow down in anticipation of sleep.
How many mg of CBD gummies should you take for sleep?
Each Yummy CBD sleep gummy contains 24 mg of CBD plus 1 mg of Melatonin. Some people find that a single gummy is enough to help them unwind and fall asleep easily. Others notice that they need to take two or three. One great way to figure out what works for you is to keep a journal and track all the things that might affect your ability to fall asleep, from the day’s events, to your final meal and time you ate, to what activities you do before going to bed. Try different amounts of CBD and rate your sleep the next morning, including how easily you fell asleep, whether you stayed asleep most of the night, and whether you were able to fall easily back to sleep if you woke up.
Is CBD legal in your State?
Thanks to the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, CBD is now legal to buy and take in all 50 states and DC, as long as certain conditions are met. The Farm Bill classified any Cannabis sativa plant with 0.3% THC or less as industrial hemp, and all CBD derived from such plants that meets this requirement as well as any state requirements is legal. Any plant with more than this trace amount of THC in it is still classed as marijuana, and remains federally classed as a controlled substance, although available in some states under state laws as a medicinal or recreational option. When buying CBD for sleep, make sure you are getting CBD sourced from industrial hemp plants, and refer to the third-party laboratory testing to confirm CBD potency and THC levels.