Sleep healthy, fall asleep quickly, and sleep through the night: We all want to start the day relaxed and with renewed energy. Good sleep is the number one remedy for this. CBD in all its variants, from CBD drops to CBD capsules, is a natural alternative that can help us reduce short-term sleep problems and find healthy long-term sleep.
Insomnia: A Common Problem
Many people suffer from poor sleep or even sleep issues with nighttime frights and restless hours. The result is headaches, muscle tension, poor concentration, and mood swings. Stress is one of the most common causes of sleep problems or disorders. Restful and deep sleep is essential for the human body. Each adult must rest at least 7 hours a night to restore the energy necessary for often hectic daily life.
CBD: A Natural Alternative
We all know natural sleeping pills, but also artificial ones from the pharmacy, home, or supermarkets, such as melatonin capsules, valerian, or lavender tea. CBD, a natural sleep aid, is little known, although the hemp plant from which CBD is extracted is one of the oldest cultivated plants in history. In recent years, CBD has received significantly more attention [1]. Most people are using this natural alternative. But what exactly is CBD? CBD stands for cannabidiol and is a component of the cannabis plant. But, CBD is not psychoactive. On the contrary, CBD helps the body in a wide variety of ways and therefore can help us with many ailments and diseases such as period pain, back pain, stress, trouble sleeping.
How Can CBD Help with Sleep Problems?
Cannabinoids are not unknown to our bodies. Each person has their system, the so-called endocannabinoid system, which can absorb cannabinoids or even produce them themselves. The endocannabinoid system helps regulate homeostasis (the balance of the body), which allows us to control and regulate important bodily functions, such as the immune system or the central nervous system.
CBD naturally interacts with our endocannabinoid system and supports it in these core tasks. For example, it can help regulate our blood sugar levels. Why does this influence sleep? Low blood sugar puts our body into hypoglycemia, which can lead to waking up at night. Due to this regulatory effect, CBD can help relieve insomnia and sleep problems.
Sleep Disorders: Common Causes
Anyone who wants to try CBD for sleep disorders first wants to know how its effects can be beneficial to their body. To begin with, it is essential to know what causes lack of sleep. There are different reasons for this.
- Medications that can interfere with the sleep-wake cycle
- Anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder
- Chronic pain
- Too much caffeine
- Environmental factors such as noise or an uncomfortable mattress or rooms that are too hot in summer.
These are just some of the causes that can cause insomnia. There are many other possible causes. However, in about half of all those affected, this symptom occurs during or before a mental illness. People with anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or depression are particularly affected. Dementia and addictions also cause insomnia.
Disorders of the endocrine system can also cause these symptoms, as can chronic inflammatory diseases.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a good example of how inflammation and chronic pain cause sleepless nights. Those affected only experience relief when the pain subsides and they can return to sleep adequately. Short-term insomnia can be triggered by stress or worry. In all of these cases, CBD can provide relief for both chronic pain and insomnia.
CBD and the Wake-Sleep Rhythm
We all have our wake-sleep rhythm, which is essentially controlled by a hormone in our body, melatonin. Melatonin is produced or suppressed by the body to control the state of wakefulness and sleep.
When it is dark, the hormone is activated in our brain and signals the body that it is time to sleep.
In daylight, on the other hand, the release of melatonin is suppressed, preventing you from falling asleep, that is why it is recommended to regulate the light sources in the bedrooms at night. Light can prevent the body from making enough melatonin. This includes in particular blue light from mobile device screens.
Melatonin: The Sleep Hormone
If our day-night rhythm is altered, for example, due to stress, jet lag, or working nights, the production of melatonin is also altered. With its calming effect, CBD can reduce this and help our bodies find their way back to a healthy resting rhythm.
Due to the release and action cycle of melatonin, it is recommended to ingest CBD at the same time in the evening. The reason for this is to train the body to regain the healthy release of melatonin and improve rest.
CBD Against Stress
The relaxing effect of CBD has a positive impact on stress. Stress is one of the most common causes of sleep problems or disorders because it stimulates the production of cortisol, a hormone that decreases the production of melatonin in the body and alters the circadian rhythm.
Unlike melatonin, the sleep hormone, cortisol has a stimulating effect. It signals the brain to stay awake and above all active, thus preventing falling asleep. CBD may help regulate cortisol levels, thereby reducing this stimulating effect that prevents sleep.
CBD might be effective in reducing anxiety and depression
Anxiety and depression are not only some consequences of living with the major depressive disorder; but also, can be some negative side effects of drug consumption like opioid medication addiction. [2]
In some cases, CBD oil has shown a positive response to the treatment of kids suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia6.
A 2015 study titled ¨Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders¨ showed that 600 mg CBD administration one hour after predator stress can importantly reduce the anxiety from chronic stress. [3]
CBD and Meditation
CBD has shown important benefits for relaxation, stress reduction, and anxiety symptoms, which is an excellent option to help you in your meditation days.
Meditation is important for the reduction of stress and anxiety, which allows you to improve your sleep habits. Meditating at least 30 minutes before bedtime will help you fall asleep and have the necessary hours of rest for your body and mind.
What is Meditation?
Meditation describes a process in which attention is fully focused on the present moment. Meditation promises well-being and satisfaction. What is currently happening must be accepted and perceived, without any assessment of the situation.
How Does CBD Work in Meditation?
Cannabidiol (CBD) from the hemp plant binds to the body’s endocannabinoid system receptors, this activates cells that strengthen the immune system, promote bone growth, and improve the ability to concentrate. This is exactly what the practice of meditation and yoga achieves [3]. Because the yogic way of life draws your attention to the here and now, which promotes relaxation and mindfulness.
Regular yoga exercises and meditative breathing techniques not only activate bodily functions but also reduce stress and negative emotions. Meditation with the important benefits of CBD can be the perfect mix to be able to sleep peacefully.
Prepare Your Mind for Meditation
Meditation and mindful breathing are also part of healthy lifestyles. When combined with CBD, they help calm stressful thoughts and contribute to a particularly mindful experience. CBD can help you better focus on your breathing or the meditation technique you are doing.
The anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects of CBD can also help you perform individual yoga asanas more easily.
To be able to sleep even more soundly after a meditation session, CBD is perfect as it can lessen problems falling asleep. The regenerative properties of CBD oil also help your body process whatever yoga or physical exercise you do.
Meditation and hemp have long been a part of Indian philosophy and both have beneficial properties for the body, mind, and well-being. If you combine meditation with CBD, you can not only take your practice to a new level, but you can also benefit from both components.
How Can CBD and Meditation be Combined to Relieve Stress and Anxiety?
Cannabidiol from the hemp plant has been known for many years for its harmonizing and calming properties. Like meditation, CBD can be a natural helper to regain balance and face challenges more calmly, reducing stress and anxiety.
The potential benefits of CBD Meditation
- You calm down faster.
- Improves control over thoughts, this is very important in those who suffer from anxiety disorders
- Helps to improve the ability to concentrate
- Promotes muscle relaxation
- Promotes better stress management
When we are tired, our thoughts roam more freely. Meditation requires a special kind of focus, and this becomes more difficult when a person is sleepy. This is natural, but it does not lead to good meditation.
CBD oil has been shown to increase alertness and focus when taken in low doses. It’s not a stimulant (caffeine is much more powerful and mind-altering than CBD) and you won’t be nervous either. It just allows you to focus a little more. That is, it helps you focus your mind on your breathing or posture.
You can also integrate CBD and meditation independently into your daily life. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable and reduce stress to improve your quality of life.
Meditation to feel better and sleep
The endocannabinoid system is important in controlling the core functions of the body.
CBD can help you get a good night’s sleep by regulating your blood sugar level, training your wake-sleep rhythm, or, for example, reducing your stress level.
First, you must stick to your CBD routine and find the right CBD product for it.
Last but not least, we recommend considering factors other than CBD, such as additional measures to cope with stress, active relaxation before bed. Sleep is a complex process in our body and brain, and sleep disorders can have very different causes. However, with CBD, you have a natural helper on hand that can help you on the path to healthy sleep.
Gastroesophageal reflux and insomnia
Gastroesophageal reflux is closely related to insomnia. Stomach acid reflux affects the esophagus, resulting in a very painful and uncomfortable episode that can prevent you from functioning normally. Usually, this reflux is caused by overeating or alcoholic beverages.
Heartburn before reflux is one of the most common and uncomfortable symptoms, which can cause stress and painful episodes that will prevent you from sleeping. Other common symptoms may be regurgitation, difficulty eating normally, or chest pain.
Benefits of CBD for gastroesophageal reflux and insomnia
The natural anti-inflammatory effects of CBD can be of great help in reducing the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux and allowing you to sleep better. CBD interacts with particular cannabinoid receptors, which also play a role in the digestive system.
There is evidence that cannabinoid receptors are related to intestinal motility, gastric and intestinal acid secretion, appetite control, and vomiting. The anti-inflammatory properties of CBD could help stimulate bowel movements, which positively promote intestinal digestion and gastric functions. [4]
The anti-inflammatory effect of CBD can also contribute to the relaxation and contraction of the soft muscles of the digestive system, it also promotes the production of gastric acid, and it can reduce inflammation of the esophageal lining. [5]