CBD has been growing in popularity recently as more states come to legalize cannabis and its uses. As the interest in CBD rises, so too does its market, with stores offering various CBD products left, right, and center. But what is it with CBD that makes it sought after, often overshadowing THC, which is another cannabis-borne product? And how does CBD relate to sleep and being tired?
What is CBD?
To start, one must understand what CBD is before delving into how it affects the body. CBD is shorthand for cannabidiol, a cannabinoid naturally found in the different parts of the cannabis plant.
CBD is a non-psychoactive component in cannabis, which means it does not give an intoxicating “high.” In contrast, THC elicits the feeling of getting high that can sometimes leave a user with temporary cognitive impairments.
Like the different cannabinoids found in cannabis, CBD interacts with the human body via the endocannabinoid system or ECS.
The Human Endocannabinoid System
The ECS is a biological pathway consisting of neurotransmitters and receptors found in the different parts of the human body. The receptors of the ECS are found in multiple organs but are mostly located in the brain along with the different parts of the nervous system. As for the neurotransmitters, these are produced in various parts of the body and are released at specific points to trigger a regulatory response.
The main point of the ECS is to help in regulating appetite, pain, mood, memory, cognitive/cardiac processes, and sleep. Therefore, by stimulating the ECS, one can trigger natural responses that benefit the body.
CBD functions by mimicking the neurotransmitters of the ECS, which then triggers the ECS to elicit a response. This is why marijuana can affect appetite, anxiety, insomnia, and muscle spasm, among others.
Although THC was the first one to get discovered and is more popular, CBD is slowly gaining attraction among the scientific community. The newfound interest in CBD’s therapeutic effects is due to its lack of any psychoactive effects, as well as its being tolerable in high doses without eliciting adverse effects.
Does CBD Make You Tired?
A misconception that worries potential users is that CBD might keep them up at night, resulting in tiredness the next day. However, that is not the case. CBD is known to assist in alleviating insomnia as well as other factors that can keep a person awake at night.
So, does CBD make you sleepy? In a manner of speaking, no, but it helps you sleep by helping you relax.
Fatigue, Stress, and Sleep
Some of the common causes of insomnia are due to fatigue and stress. These factors commonly interfere with the natural cycle of sleep.
The human body has a diurnal state that governs what hormones are released during the day and night. Some of the hormones released during this cycle include:
- Cortisol – this hormone is released to regulate blood-glucose concentrations, which activate the metabolism of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
- Dopamine – commonly known as the reward hormone, is released when the brain perceives any action as beneficial for the body, leading to the conditioning of reward-motivated behavior.
- Adrenaline – sometimes described as the super-human hormone that allows the body to perform in excessive amounts in times of stress. It is a significant component in the body’s fight-or-flight response comprising every part of the body.
Now, a body in constant stress and fatigue will often find itself in a state of chronic distress, which leads to an imbalance of hormonal release. Adrenaline misfires can keep the brain and body always on edge while dopamine can be released, perceiving damaging coping activities for stress as beneficial – for example, drinking and overeating.
Likewise, as the body is unable to fully relax and always feels on edge, the diurnal pattern is slowly eroded, leading to improper or lacking releases of cortisol, which causes improper maintenance of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. This is one of the factors why seemingly fit persons suffer from the same health problems as those who are physically unfit.
How CBD Affects Fatigue, Stress and Sleep
CBD for stress works by alleviating perceived stress, allowing the body to relax and restore a healthy sleep over time.
According to a recent study done in 2019, the researchers took on a retrospective look at psychiatric clinics that involved the clinical application of CBD for anxiety and sleep complaints despite the usage of usual treatments. In the study, CBD is shown to alleviate anxiety and help induce sleep, while at the same time being better tolerated compared to psychiatric medications that alleviate anxiety.
Another study done in 2018 shows that CBD is capable of managing sleep disturbances due to stress. The study tackles PTSD, a severe negative adaptation to a traumatic experience.
The study indicates how CBD helps people with PTSD cope by affecting the different stages of aversive memory processing related to stress. It makes CBD a candidate for alternative therapies with fewer side effects to current medicines used to treat PTSD. As with the previously mentioned study, this set also points to CBD’s ability to be tolerated by patients in high doses with little risk to elicit adverse side-effects.
CBD Products with Additives May Make You Sleepy
Does CBD oil make you sleepy, or does hemp oil make you sleepy? There are CBD products out there that are purposefully designed to make use of CBD’s ability to help you sleep and help keep you asleep.
It is common to find CBD oil or hemp oil that is often mixed with various products that can be useful in different parts of the day. Some, like CBD coffee, are marketed to help boost energy during strenuous activities, while others help calm you. Therefore, not all CBD products can theoretically make you sleepy unless they’re designed to do so.
A CBD tincture for sleep exists, following some anecdotal evidence of CBD’s potential in helping with sleep and stress. These tinctures are specially formulated to help induce sleep, working hand in hand with CBD in helping you relax, which then restores the natural balance of sleep over time. Mission Farms makes CBD products for sleep by adding essential oils with specific terpenes that the body’s endocannabinoid system uses to induce sleepiness.
So does CBD oil make you sleepy? As mentioned earlier, CBD is capable of alleviating stress and anxiety, which helps you sleep but does not necessarily make you sleepy.
Different Types of CBD Extract and CBD Oil that Makes You Sleepy
CBD products often come in oil form containing the CBD extract in varying forms of purity. These are:
- Full-spectrum – This type of extract offers the full list of cannabinoids, which includes CBD as well as THC. Those that need to be aware of or must avoid THC for whatever reason must steer clear of this type of extract.
- Broad-spectrum – This type of extract is similar to the full-spectrum extract but differs by not containing any THC. It allows any user to enjoy the benefits of CBD alongside the other cannabinoids without the high. For those that are concerned with accidentally consuming THC, broad-spectrum extracts can only be legal in other states if it contains less than 0.3% THC.
- Isolate – This type of extract is purely CBD. Like broad-spectrum extracts, one can be assured that this will not contain any concentrations of THC.
For some consumers who are trying CBD for sleeping problems, a full-spectrum type of product seems an apt choice. CBD’s beneficial abilities show signs of magnification by cannabis’s other cannabinoids.
This effect is what scientific studies call the “Entourage Effect.” A chemical interaction between the different cannabinoids that makes their effects compound together, eliciting an overall effect greater than the sum of its parts.
Therefore, full-spectrum and broad-spectrum extracts are able to make use of the entourage effects while the Isolate does not. This can play a deciding factor in consuming CBD when THC is not a problem.
