About 14% of Americans (one in seven) say they use cannabidiol (CBD). About 40% use it for pain, 20% use it for anxiety, and 11% use it for insomnia relief.
How can CBD oil products help reduce your anxiety and insomnia? Keep reading to find out!
In this guide, we’ll review everything you need to know before using CBD oil for yourself. Then, you can make an informed choice before shopping for CBD!
Without help, insomnia and anxiety can have a major impact on your quality of life. For example, insomnia can impact your ability to concentrate. You could get into an accident, gain weight, or experience skin problems, too.
Anxiety, on the other hand, can impact your confidence and ability to handle social situations.
Make a change for the better! Keep reading to discover how CBD for anxiety and insomnia might help.
What is CBD?
First, it helps to understand a little more about CBD.
CBD is one of the main cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. It works by interacting with the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS regulates different bodily functions to help you remain in a state of balance and stability.
This state is also known as homeostasis.
External factors like an accident or internal factors like illness can impact your ability to maintain homeostasis. In these instances, your ECS will kick in to help.
The ECS is responsible for regulating:
- Sleep
- Stress and anxiety
- Skin and nerve function
- Learning and memory
- Appetite and digestion
- Mood
- Metabolism
- Chronic pain
- Inflammation
- Reproductive system function
- Bone remodeling and growth
- Motor control
- Cardiovascular system function
- Muscle formation
Endocannabinoids like CBD and THC can interact with your ECS to stimulate certain responses. For example, THC can cause nausea and paranoia. It can also relieve pain.
Unlike THC, CBD doesn’t cause psychoactive effects. It won’t get you high or cause you to hallucinate. Instead, people turn to CBD oil for therapeutic benefits.
It’s possible that CBD interacts with your CB1 and CB2 receptors. These receptors tell your endocannabinoid system when to take action. These receptors are found in your central and peripheral nervous systems.
CBD Oil for Anxiety
Scientists don’t fully understand how CBD interacts with your receptors. However, it’s possible CBD affects CB1 receptors to alter serotonin signals.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter. It plays an important role in mental health.
In fact, decreased serotonergic activity is associated with anxiety and major depression. Not having enough serotonin in the brain might cause anxiety.
Patients with low serotonin levels usually take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). These medications can include Zoloft or Prosac. Unfortunately, many medications can cause adverse side effects.
SSRIs are only available by prescription, too.
Taking CBD for anxiety might help. It’s important to note that everyone reacts to CBD a little differently. You might need to determine your ideal dose, too.
Your ideal dose can vary based on the extent of the medical condition you’re trying to treat, weight, and other factors.
Don’t replace the prescription SSRIs you’re taking without speaking to a doctor first. In fact, CBD could interact with certain medications. Make sure to consult a doctor before using CBD oil or CBD capsules.
Studies
The NIDA indicates CBD could help reduce stress in animals. Easing stress symptoms could help patients with a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). In the study, rats had lower behavioral signs of anxiety.
Their psychological symptoms of anxiety, such as an increased heart rate, improved as well.
However, more research is needed to understand the full effect of taking CBD for anxiety.
CBD could help patients with other forms of anxiety as well. For example, it might help treat:
- Social anxiety disorder (SAD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety-induced insomnia
Researchers studied the effects of CBD oil products on patients with SAD. People who received CBD experienced reduced anxiety levels.
For patients with PTSD, CBD could ease symptoms such as nightmares and negative memory replay.
CBD might help as a standalone treatment and as a supplement to cognitive behavioral therapy.
CBD Oil for Insomnia
Remember, your ECS regulates your body’s ability to sleep. You might consider trying CBD oil products if you’re experiencing anxiety.
First, it’s important to consider the root cause of your insomnia. For example, you might develop insomnia due to:
- Mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, or PTSD
- Medication (which could disrupt your sleep-wake cycle)
- Excessive caffeine intake
- Environmental factors (temperature, an uncomfortable bed, noise, etc.)
- Physical conditions (such as restless leg syndrome or chronic pain)
Remember, CBD might help ease your anxiety. If anxiety is the root cause of your insomnia, remedying one issue might help the other.
You can find CBD oil products, including gummies, oil, and capsules.
Studies
Recent research looked into whether or not CBD could improve sleep and/or reduce anxiety. This study involved 47 people experiencing anxiety. Meanwhile, 25 people involved in the study experienced poor sleep.
Subjects consumed 25 milligrams of CBD in capsule form each day.
Within the first month, over 79% of participants reported lower anxiety levels. Meanwhile, 66.7% reported improved sleep.
CBD could affect the sleep cycle, too. It could improve symptoms of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). RBD causes people to act out their dreams.
It’s also associated with poor sleep and nightmares.
In addition to helping patients with RBD, CBD shows potential in treating excessive daytime sleepiness as well.
It’s important to note that while CBD improves sleep, it might not tackle your unique cause of insomnia. You might want to consider making additional changes to your routine.
For example, try to maintain a regular sleep schedule. Make sure your mattress and pillows are comfortable, too. Then, try using CBD oil products to get the sleep you need!
Relax and Unwind: Discover CBD Oil Products for Insomnia and Anxiety
To recap, can you use CBD for anxiety and sleep? Yes! In fact, using CBD oil products for anxiety might help treat your insomnia.
Make sure to find high-quality CBD gummies, capsules, or other products you can trust. A high-quality product could ensure you achieve the best possible results.
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