Key Takeaways

• Poor sleep often has a specific cause, including environmental issues, stress, anxiety, or physical pain.

• CBD can effectively minimize stress and reduce pain, which can help promote sleep.

• Minor cannabinoids and native terpenes in CBD oils offer their own relaxing properties that can also help promote sleep.

• Dosing is also an important consideration. Higher doses of CBD can actually be stimulating instead of relaxing.

• CBD oils are a good introductory product if better sleep is the goal, because they’re easy to dose with a rapid onset of effects.

There’s a reason sleep deprivation is considered a form of torture — not being able to sleep is brutal, with a cascading effect that touches everything from your health to your sanity. We all need quality sleep to function, and the plain truth is that not all of us are getting it. It’s no surprise, then, that the global sleep aid industry generated $78.7 billion in 2019, a number that’s only projected to go up. And that makes sense, since stress is a common culprit behind poor sleep. It generates the anxiety that makes it impossible to shut off our brains when it’s time to wind down. 

But work backwards, and it becomes clear that addressing stress could be the key to better sleep for many of us. And that’s where CBD comes in. As people explore non-pharmaceutical ways like lifestyle changes and alternative treatments in the pursuit of better zzz’s, CBD is increasingly being touted as the way to go. If you’re considering CBD for better sleep, we’re covering everything you need to know.

An appealing alternative.

Part of the appeal for many people who are considering CBD for better sleep is that unlike prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, you aren’t dealing with a laundry list of potential side effects. If it doesn’t work for you, well, it doesn’t work, but CBD has been proven to be extraordinarily safe, so there’s no adverse risk here. That’s a huge plus when you consider the potential risks of prescription sleeping pills, which include:

• Dizziness or lightheadedness

• Headaches

• Diarrhea

• Nausea

• Prolonged drowsiness

• Allergic reactions

• Memory and performance problems during the daytime

Even melatonin, which is marketed as a “natural” sleep aid, has its drawbacks and isn’t advised for long-term use.

Does CBD actually help us sleep?

There is evidence suggesting CBD has a positive effect on sleep, but in current clinical studies, the effects of CBD on sleep tend to be a somewhat secondary outcome. These studies are looking at the role CBD plays in managing symptoms of conditions like multiple sclerosis, PTSD, and chronic pain, and better sleep is a sort of happy side effect.

One notable study reviewed CBD’s effects on anxiety and sleep, with pretty logical findings. Because CBD can help moderate anxiety thanks to a general calming effect, it can also help promote sleep. It’s the absence or minimizing of anxiety that sets things in motion, and that effectively sums up how CBD helps improve sleep.

Think about it. What’s the cause of a poor night’s sleep? Usually, you can point the finger at something specific:

• conditions like stress, anxiety, or depression

• physical discomfort or outright pain

• environmental issues, like temperature, ambient noise, uncomfortable sleep surfaces, or lighting

• too much caffeine too late in the day

Clearly, if you suspect a restless night was the result of that last espresso or an overly-heated bedroom filled with devices, you can take obvious steps to remedy that. But if you’ve followed the whole “the bedroom should be a sanctuary” mindset to the letter, you’ve cut out caffeine after lunch, and still, you find yourself tossing and turning, or worse, staring at the ceiling in the wee hours and just wishing you were asleep, it’s worth considering things a little more carefully.

…not being able to sleep is brutal, with a cascading effect that touches everything from your health to your sanity.

If you’re wound too tight to sleep, or various aches and pains are making you too uncomfortable, CBD might be exactly what you need. We’ve already established that CBD can help mitigate symptoms of anxiety, and studies have also found that CBD can effectively manage even chronic pain.

And then there are minor cannabinoids and terpenes.

It’s not just the CBD that’s making a difference for sleep. Cannabinoids and terpenes have an effect as well. Terpenes in particular play a role in many traditional sleep aids — think chamomile tea or lavender-scented pillow sprays and eye masks — because of their calming or outright sedative properties. In a blend like Wonderfeel’s own Evening CBD formula, minor cannabinoids and native terpenes bring their own relaxing, anti-inflammatory benefits:

• CBDV, or cannabidivarin, is a rare cannabinoid that offers neuroprotective benefits and can help reduce discomfort.

• CBC, or cannabichromene, is another hard-to-source cannabinoid with anti-inflammatory properties. It may help manage daily stress and improve mood.

• CBL, or cannabicyclol, is found in trace amounts and plays a supporting role, boosting and benefiting other compounds.

• Bisabolol is a terpene that features heavily in chamomile, a standard bedtime tea choice. Bisabolol is known for its relaxing effects and ability to reduce symptoms of depression and insomnia.

We paired all these compounds with 1,350 mg of broad-spectrum CBD to create a concentrated CBD oil specifically designed to calm the body and the mind, setting you up for serious relaxation and dreamy sleep.

Getting started with CBD for better sleep.

Plus, there are lots of options – tinctures, oils, edibles, and even topicals can all help promote a calmer, more relaxed state.

CBD oils in particular tend to fit nicely into a calming evening ritual, a practice that can signal to your brain and body that it’s time to unwind. Pairing a fragrant bedtime bubble bath with a dose of our Evening CBD, for example, could mean a double whammy of terpene exposure, which might be just what you need to begin powering down.

A word about dosing.

One important consideration is dosing. CBD oils are conveniently simple to dose, with droppers that make it possible to measure half or even quarter servings. That may be worth exploring. There are small studies that have found CBD to be stimulating in higher doses (300 mg) and more effective for reducing sleep disruption and increasing sleep duration at lower doses, around 160 mg. Since CBD efficacy can be highly personal and depends on any number of individual characteristics, a trial-and-error approach is to be expected.

The takeaway.

If good sleep is eluding you and you’ve ruled out lifestyle and environmental issues, you have options beyond pharmaceutical sleep aids. Many people find a lot of success with CBD for better sleep. The best advice is to follow best practices for snoozing — a peaceful sleep space, the perfect sleep temperature, no devices — and explore low doses of a high-quality, terpene-rich CBD oil. Our Evening CBD is a great place to begin.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.